David O’Leary says only ‘Max himself’ can halt Dowman’s superstar rise

It marked Dowman’s sole appearance of the season so far, with Arsenal having played seven and won seven in an ominous opening to the campaign for Mikel Arteta’s Premier League champions.

Dowman will hope to be involved in Arsenal’s league trip to Brighton on Saturday but such is the strength of Arteta’s squad, the teenager could find himself sidelined.

And O’Leary, who played a record 722 times for the Gunners, told talkSPORT: “For years, everybody has been talking about Max behind the scenes.

“Arsenal are very lucky to have him, and Max is lucky to have an outstanding manager in Mikel to push him on.

“It is about nurturing him. We know he is going to be an absolute top player, and it is about giving him the right time, the right games and not going crazy about him. The club will know how to use him well.

“He is not arrogant, he is very confident, he is not shy when he gets the ball, and he enjoys the big arena, and he has an edge to his game.

“Max is up and against, and involved in, one of the best squads in the country. And it only looks one way that Max will go, so if we don’t see Max as a superstar, it will be because of Max himself.

“He is at a team which are clearly the ones to beat, and they could go on to dominate for quite a while.”