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“No 7! No 7! Can we have your shirt please?” Those high-pitched cries felt like the soundtrack to the evening at a stadium on the outskirts of London on Saturday as a group of young children constantly pleaded with Arsenal’s right winger to hand over his jersey.
The venue was Meadow Park, home of non-League Boreham Wood, and the player in question was Max Dowman.
Playing three years above his age, Dowman was making his FA Youth Cup debut against Queens Park Rangers – a goalscoring debut, too. In September, he made his UEFA Youth League debut against Atalanta and, at the age of 14 years, eight months and 19 days, became the youngest player ever to score in the competition.
Get ready to feel old. Dowman was born in 2009 — just. He celebrated his 15th birthday on New Year’s Eve, which means — and this part of his story is easy to overlook when you focus on his football journey — that he is currently in Year 10 at school and won’t be sitting his GCSE exams until the summer after next.
