Max Doman: Arsenal have ‘something special’ as 15-year-old makes history

Another day, another record for 15-year-old Max Doman. But Arsenal’s teenage prodigy is taking it all in his stride, according to manager Mikel Arteta.

The winger has already written himself into the Arsenal history books when he became the second-youngest player to represent the club and the second-youngest to play in the Premier League – with teammate Ethan Nwaneri holding both records.

But on Wednesday, Doman became the youngest player – at 15 years and 302 days – to start a match for Arsenal, playing a starring role in the UEFA Cup win over Brighton.

Doman made his Premier League debut as a substitute in Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Leeds in August – but his talent has excited everyone at the club for a long time.

He has been training with the first team since he was 14 and was one of the standout players on Arsenal’s pre-season tour.

Arteta made 10 changes to the side that beat Crystal Palace on Sunday, and his young squad featured four teenagers – including Doman and Andre Harriman Enos who were making their debuts.

“A little smile, that’s what you get with him,” Arteta said when asked about Doman’s reaction when he heard he was starting.

“For him everything is normal, for him everything is fine. That’s the way he plays and that’s the secret, he doesn’t make a big fuss about it.”

“He’s doing what he does best, which is playing football. He played football with a lot of guts and determination, and today again, he showed some incredible skill, some ability to get past players at this level in the Premier League at the age of 15. He’s definitely something special.”

Doman once again demonstrated his excellent dribbling ability and in one notable run he left Brighton’s Diego Gomez struggling to keep up.

He completed the most dribbles (five), won the most fouls (four), and won the most duels (nine) of any player on the pitch.

Arteta added: “We made 10 changes, played with players who had never played together, and yet we made two big matches for the first time with Max and Andre.”

“This feeling of giving someone a chance and making a dream come true is unique, and I am very happy that things were so positive and we were able to win the match.”