Arteta Hails ‘Unbelievable’ Dowman After Two-Goal Carabao Cup Display

Mikel Arteta has described 16-year-old Max Dowman’s performance as ‘unbelievable’ after the teenager scored twice in Arsenal’s 4-2 Carabao Cup victory over Ipswich Town.

Dowman opened the scoring inside the first 10 minutes at Portman Road before striking again less than 90 seconds after the restart.

The brace made him Arsenal’s second-youngest scorer in Carabao Cup history, further highlighting the teenager’s rapid emergence under Arteta.

‘He was unbelievable again,’ Arteta said. ‘Some of the actions and connections that he can give us on the pitch are just a joy to watch.

‘He was really efficient; he’s getting more and more active in action; he can sustain for longer periods, and we know the talent that we have.’

Dowman was not the only teenager to impress, with 17-year-old Marli Salmon completing 90 minutes in a physically demanding encounter.

Arteta was equally pleased with Salmon’s contribution.

‘Really good as well, and it was a really tough match with some of the physicality that they have, and the way they isolate you, and you have to handle,’ he said.

‘Again, another 17-year-old doing something incredible, so yeah, really proud of him.’

The victory came at the end of a demanding run of away fixtures for Arsenal, who had travelled to Napoli and Sunderland before making the trip to Ipswich.

Arteta praised his players for maintaining their intensity despite the heavy travel schedule.