“He beats people effortlessly” - Gary Lineker delivers verdict on ‘incredibly confident’ Arsenal star after watching him in pre-season

England legend Gary Lineker has heaped praise on Arsenal star Max Dowman after watching him in pre-season. The 15-year-old has captured the imagination of the Gunners fans after a series of confident outings with the senior side.

Dowman is already playing above his age level in the youth teams and is currently part of the Under-21s. He made his senior debut for the north London side in the game against AC Milan in pre-season this summer.

The Englishman also caught the eye after coming off the bench in the 3-2 win over Newcastle United, earning praise from Joelinton after an on-field clash. Dowman was introduced in the 79th minute in the 1-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in the final game of Arsenal's pre-season tour.

Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Lineker lauded the teenager's abilities.

“But I’ll tell you who looks exciting, I mean, everyone is talking about this 15-year-old boy, Max Dowman. I mean, he’s been featuring in some of the friendlies, I saw him playing the game against your lot, Alan, it was Newcastle, wasn’t it?" said Lineker.

He continued:

“I mean, boy, oh boy, he was doing some amazing stuff. He looks like a man already and he’s got so much talent. He beats people effortlessly and he can finish and he looks incredibly confident.”

Arsenal already have Martin Odegaard and Ethan Nwaneri for the No. 10 role, but Dowman could be knocking at the door in a couple of years.

Why did Arsenal turn down a move for Benjamin Sesko this summer?

Arsenal ended their pursuit of Benjamin Sesko this summer because they felt that the total cost of the move wasn't justified, according to The Daily Star via ESPN. The Gunners held talks with RB Leipzig for the Slovenian as they wanted to station him as the focal point of their attack next season.

However, the north London side decided that the entire cost of the transfer was too high for Sesko's abilities. Arsenal were unimpressed by the Bundesliga club's massive asking price, while the player wanted a fat contract as well.

The Gunners were worried that the 22-year-old, who scored 21 goals from 45 games last season, could struggle to cope with the pressures of the Premier League. As such, the north London club left the table and opted to move for Viktor Gyokeres instead. The Swede, interestingly, scored 54 goals from 52 games last season for Sporting.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9500 articles for the website, and has garnered close to 21 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

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Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Deepungsu Pandit