Arsenal beat Ipswich Town 4-2 in the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday night, with Max Dowman scoring twice in a commanding performance at Portman Road — goals from Noni Madueke and Mikel Merino completing the visitors' victory.
The 16-year-old, who can play across the forward positions and in an attacking midfield role, opened the scoring in the seventh minute. Collecting the ball in the Ipswich half, he exchanged passes with Eberechi Eze, sat Cedric Kipre on the ground with a shimmy, and fired past goalkeeper Christian Walton with his weaker right foot. Madueke doubled the advantage in the 16th minute with a powerful half-volley into the corner.
Dowman added his second only 98 seconds after the interval. A pass from Martin Zubimendi deflected off Jacob Greaves's left arm and, with little room inside the penalty area, Dowman adjusted with two quick touches and stroked the ball into the bottom corner with his left foot. Merino made it 4-0 before the hour mark. Anis Mehmeti and Chuba Akpom pulled goals back for the hosts, but Arsenal were never troubled and moved through to the fourth round.
Dowman is now only the second 16-year-old to score a brace in a single match for a Premier League club, after Wayne Rooney did so for Everton against Wrexham in the 2002 League Cup. Having already become the Premier League's youngest-ever goalscorer, he is the third 16-year-old to score in the League Cup for a Premier League side — behind Cesc Fabregas, who scored for Arsenal against Wolves in 2003 at 16 years and 212 days, with Dowman's effort coming at 16 years and 258 days, and Jack Wilshere having scored for Arsenal against Sheffield United at 16 years and 266 days.
It was Dowman's first appearance of the season. He had been an unused substitute in four earlier fixtures and played an hour for the under-21s in their 4-1 defeat to Chelsea last Saturday. He only completed his GCSEs in August. Mikel Arteta, who made nine changes from the side that beat Sunderland, also handed 17-year-old centre-back Marli Salmon his first start of the campaign — only Salmon's second appearance for the first team.
"Just having two 16-year-olds playing for Arsenal at this level against a Premier League team is so fulfilling," Arteta told Sky Sports. He acknowledged the difficulty of keeping expectations in check, telling reporters that managing the attention around Dowman was not straightforward given what the teenager keeps producing on the pitch, and stressing that the club needed to ensure every opportunity came with the right preparation and context for a player of his age.
Team-mate Merino, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, described Dowman as "an unbelievable talent" and said he would become "a star in the future if he keeps his eyes and ears open and keeps learning."
Viktor Gyokeres, starting for the first time this season alongside Dowman, Madueke, Merino and Zubimendi, struggled throughout and missed a clear chance to score, completing just 9 of 13 passes across the full 90 minutes. With Kai Havertz in strong form as the central striker, Gyokeres did not strengthen his claim for a starting berth.
Arsenal return to Premier League action on Saturday when they travel to Brighton and Hove Albion's Amex Stadium, looking to maintain their 100 per cent start to the season.
Reporting: Daily Star, Mirror, GiveMeSport, CaughtOffside, Football.London, Sky Sports, ESPN, The Sun, Daily Mail, BBC Sport, Metro, The Telegraph, Evening Standard, talkSPORT.