For 24 years the record had a single owner. In October 2002, a 16-year-old Wayne Rooney scored twice for Everton in a 3-0 League Cup win over Wrexham. Until this month, no other 16-year-old had matched the feat for a Premier League club.
Max Dowman is now the second. The Arsenal forward struck in the 7th and 47th minutes as Arsenal won 4-2 at Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup third round on 15 September, aged 16 years and 258 days.
Bukayo Saka, on international duty with England, was asked about him a week later.
His verdict was short.
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“His talent is insane. It’s up to him how far he’s going to go in football. That’s what I would say. But, yes, his talent, it’s crazy.”
The Saka line, reported by the BBC, was a compliment with a challenge attached: nobody at Arsenal is treating Dowman’s run of records as the finished article.
Arteta wants the brakes on
Mikel Arteta echoed the point after the Ipswich win.
“He’s 16 years old, and we need to be really cautious with that. We don’t want to stop him, we don’t want to put any brakes on him, we need to develop him, and we are fully aware of what he needs. He will have opportunities to play.”
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A record built on a run of them
The Ipswich double is the latest entry in an already crowded list. Dowman became the second-youngest Premier League player at 15 years and 235 days in August 2025, the youngest ever to appear in the Champions League in November 2025, and in March this year the youngest Premier League scorer in Arsenal’s history at 16 years and 73 days, according to the Yahoo report on the Ipswich match.
England: still Under-19 for now
Any suggestion that Dowman would jump straight into Thomas Tuchel’s senior England squad this month proved premature. When Tuchel named a 27-man group on 18 September for the Nations League games against Spain, Czechia and Croatia between 21 September and 6 October, Dowman was not in it. He remains with the England Under-19s.
According to Read Arsenal, several clubs have been in touch about a January loan once Dowman becomes eligible, and a first look from Tuchel’s senior setup is being considered rather than confirmed.
Arsenal are through to the Carabao Cup fourth round, where the draw has already paired the third-round winners against one another.
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