Mikel Arteta sent clear message over 15-year-old Arsenal wonderkid Max Dowman

Mikel Arteta has been told he needs to carefully monitor Arsenal sensation Max Dowman if he wants the 15-year-old to fulfil his obvious potential as he continues to turn heads in pre-season.

The Gunners have allowed the teenager to be part of the first-team during their preparations for the new campaign and he's impressed when given the chance. He enjoyed a stellar cameo in Arsenal’s 3-2 win over Newcastle after replacing Bukayo Saka to make just his second senior appearance for the Gunners.

His first outing was against AC Milan. Dowman won the decisive penalty late against the Magpies, converted by Martin Odegaard, who then gestured for Dowman to go and receive the acclaim from the Arsenal fans.

Warnock though hopes that the youngster, who is still a schoolboy, does not get led in the wrong direction or receive poor advice with huge amounts of attention set to come his way. Which only furthers the need to have good people around him.

He told TalkSport: "If you’re good enough, you’re old enough. But you’ve got to be careful with kids as well, though. With 15-year-olds and the Arsenal lad, it goes to their heads. No matter what you say, it goes to their heads. They read the papers, they get big cars if they’re not careful. They need good guidance at that age and I’m not sure they get it all together for them at the minute."

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Arteta seems to have already hinted that Dowman has a great support network, hailing his parents and insisting that those at the Emirates will continue to steer him along the right path.

He said: “What he's done today against this team in the time that he had on the pitch, it is something certainly not common to witness for a 15-year-old. We are extremely happy to have him. The environment that is around him, his family, the people at the club & academy are super helpful because they put him in this position so early in his journey, having a real chance and a real presence when he plays for the first team."

Warnock saw first hand how teenager sensations can make the wrong decisions and failed to fulfil their potentials with the veteran manager working with John Bostock, who was tipped for the very top, when he was at Crystal Palace.

He recalled: "It is difficult. In John’s case, when I gave him his debut at Palace, I told him, 'If you stay here, you’ll play 50 or 60 games in the next couple of years and your career will take off'. But I think his dad was a big influence on him. He ended up going to Tottenham and never really fulfilled his potential."

Arsenal, like a host of clubs, have seen young players enjoy breakout moments only to struggle to continue that upward trajectory. However Arteta has managed the development of players like Ethan Nwaneri, who are now first-team performers.

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