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Arsenal academy graduate sends warning to Max Dowman based on his time at the club, ‘from my experiences’…

Giuseppe Labellarte

Tue 5 August 2025 20:15, UK

Arsenal have been given advice from Charlie Patino on how to make sure Max Dowman can prosper at the Emirates Stadium.

Max Dowman is one of the most talented academy players at Arsenal and he has been tipped for a huge future in the game.

Dowman has earned serious praise for his performances during the Gunners’ pre-season tour in Asia.

When Patino was at Arsenal, he was also tipped to become a star at the Emirates Stadium, but the club eventually sold him to Deportivo La Coruna.

Patino has now spoken about Dowman as he issued a word of warning regarding how to get the best out of him and what Arsenal must avoid doing.

Charlie Patino urges Arsenal to give Max Dowman time to adapt and not put too much pressure on him

Patino has described Dowman’s breakthrough at just 15 years of age as a “massive thing” that is “very rare” in the game.

The 21-year-old stressed that it’s important for Dowman not to have too much pressure and for him to just adapt and develop his game.

“To be breaking in (at 15) is a massive thing,” Patino told The Athletic. “It’s very rare for people that age to be doing that.

“I’d say from my experiences to not put too much pressure on a kid that age and just let him learn from training.

“Put him in when needed and give them time to adapt, to get that experience, to see what it’s like.

“That’s what I was like when I started training with the first team at 17.

“I was learning from Granit Xhaka, David Luiz, big egos in the group, big characters. That’s how I learnt from them.”

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Arsenal’s plans for Max Dowman

TBR Football understands that Arsenal remain coy over Dowman’s chances of playing regular minutes next season.

The Gunners are unwilling to rush him and will likely be conscious of exposing him to the physicality of senior football at such a young age.

This was very much the case with Ethan Nwaneri, who was handed his debut at an early age but was then allowed to develop in the academy until he was ready.

With that in mind, it looks like Arsenal and Patino are on the same wavelength regarding Dowman’s future.