Mikel Merino has drawn a notable comparison between Arsenal teenager Max Dowman and Barcelona\u2019s Lamine Yamal after the 16-year-old\u2019s eye-catching showing in Tuesday\u2019s Carabao Cup win over Ipswich Town.<\/p>\n
Merino, who knows Yamal well from international duty with Spain, said Dowman shares more than just talent with the Barcelona forward. In his view, the pair are alike in how they handle pressure and attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are some similarities in terms of their character,\u201d Merino reflected. \u201cThey don\u2019t care about the spotlight. They thrive when pressure is at the highest. They are always up for the challenge and they are not shy at all, even facing the biggest names in the game.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Dowman] is an unbelievable talent. We knew it, but every time he goes on the pitch and plays against grown men he makes the difference. He is a big talent and we have to take care of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to keep pushing him. He needs to keep learning\u2014eyes and ears open always. There is still big room for improvement in a lot of areas and he knows that. So we are going to be by his side trying to get him to his best level.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a thin line. It is very difficult to have equilibrium sometimes with him, because obviously you want him to shine and show everyone the talent that he has. But you have to sometimes remind them that they are human beings and they are part of a bigger squad and team.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe good thing with these kind of players\u2014Lamine and Max\u2014is that they are special talents, but at the same time they are very humble. They are always keen to learn and listen to the veterans. That is priceless.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dowman, who turns 17 on Dec. 31, has now delivered three goals and one assist in 14 senior appearances for Mikel Arteta\u2019s side.<\/p>\n
Arteta, though, stressed that progress must be handled carefully. He said the Premier League presents a different challenge from other leagues and that Dowman\u2019s development needs patience and the right conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything is possible,\u201d Arteta said when asked if Dowman could become a first-team regular. \u201cThe probability probably is extremely low, because you don\u2019t see the players with the capacity to handle just the physicality of the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only that, but the demands that you have to put your bodies through in the week to be able to be in a good condition to compete, the amount of information, the challenges that you have to face.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he\u2019s doing it, and he\u2019s doing it really well every time he\u2019s got a chance. What we have to do is look after him. He\u2019s 16 years old, you don\u2019t see that in this league.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn other leagues in Europe, that’s a totally different context. But in this league, with the demands that the league, the players and everything puts on you, we really need to make sure every time we throw him in, he\u2019s in the right context with the right preparation, and that\u2019s what we are trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Merino compared Max Dowman to Lamine Yamal after the teenager impressed in Arsenal\u2019s cup win.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19618,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[192,1067],"tags":[1066,180,182],"class_list":["post-19619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal","category-carabao-cup","tag-carabao-cup","tag-player-news","tag-transfers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19619\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}