Max Dowman scores twice in Europe for Arsenal's youngsters but junior Gunners beaten in thriller with Atletico Madrid

Dowman featured in Arsenal U19's starting in the European clash against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday at Meadow Park. The Gunners took the lead through Harrison Dudziak's third-minute strike but Sergio Vinatea brought the visitors back into the game in the 17th minute. Dowman then scored his first goal of the day before the half-hour mark as Arsenal headed into the break with a 2-1 lead. The Gunners, however, failed to hold on to the lead for long as Sergio Esteban and Ruben Gomez scored in quick succession to put Atletico in front soon after the interval. 

Dowman then completed his double with a strike from the penalty spot in the 85th minute, but Jesus Barrios scored the winning goal two minutes to clinch a seven-goal thriller for the Spanish club. This was the Gunners' third successive loss in the UEFA Youth League.

Even before turning 16, Dowman has made a name for himself and has caught Arteta's eye already. He has been training with the senior squad for nearly a year and trained with the first team at the start of the week. Arteta earlier kept Dowman in his matchday squads as an unused substitute in the Gunners' previous Champions League encounters against Athletic Club and Olympiacos. The teenager has also featured off the Arsenal bench in their Premier League clashes against Leeds and Liverpool in the Premier League as well as versus Port Vale in the Carabao Cup. 

However, despite his promising performances, Arteta is being very protective about the wonderkid and is using him sparingly before giving him full-fledged exposure to the senior professional game. Just a week ago, Dowman became the youngster player to score for England U19s as they saw off Wales 7-0.

Last month, the Gunners sensation created history in the Premier League 2. At the age of 15 years and 263 days, Dowman became the youngest player to score a goal in competition's history, a record which was previously held by another Hale End youth graduate in Reiss Nelson.

After the game, Dowman and his team-mates garnered praise from Arsenal U21 head coach Max Porter, who told the club's official website: "I think it was a bit of a roller coaster. We were 2-0 down and had given away two poor goals from our standards, which was obviously disappointing, but I've got to praise the group, really. The reason I say the group is because it wasn't just the ones on the pitch, it was the players that came on. Our first-team manager, Mikel, mentioned the other week about the importance of finishers. All around, from the players on the pitch and the ones that came on to finish the game, they showed huge courage, they pushed themselves physically, and in the end, we got what we deserved from the game. Even in the first half, even though we weren't as good as the second, I think there were still moments we could have scored. So, we're really delighted because I think the group, particularly the ones that played midweek, showed a huge response, which we want to keep going."

While the junior side failed to beat Atletico, later on Tuesday, the senior side avenged that defeat in style as they thrashed Diego Simeone's side 4-0 in the Champions League at Emirates Stadium. Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli handed Arteta's team a two-goal lead at the start of the second half before Viktor Gyokeres completed the rout with a double.