Arsenal is open to loaning out teenage player Max Dowman if the move is deemed beneficial for his development. The 16-year-old, who set records last season as the youngest player to score in Premier League history and for Arsenal, has not yet featured in the top flight this term.
Dowman scored twice in his first appearance of the season during Arsenal's 4-2 Carabao Cup victory against Ipswich on Tuesday. Manager Mikel Arteta stated that while he wants to keep the player involved with the senior squad, the club will regularly evaluate what is best for Dowman's progression.
"We will evaluate every six months where we are and what is the best thing for him to do and then make the right decision," Arteta said. "It depends on a lot of factors. What he needs, and what the team needs as well, the availability we have in the squad, the minutes that he is playing and the qualities of those minutes.
"We have to be open, but now the focus is to be here and to impact the team."
Dowman, who completed his GCSEs in the summer, will be eligible for a loan move upon turning 17 on December 31. The winter transfer window opens the following day. Reports suggest League One side Luton, managed by former Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, has expressed interest.
"We haven't really listened to any of the possibilities because we were crystal clear that we wanted to have Max in the squad, that we wanted him to be part of the pre-season and then start to see where we are from there," Arteta added.
Last season, Dowman featured 13 times for Arsenal. Arteta, cautious about the teenager's trajectory, acknowledged that loan spells can have varied outcomes.
"There have been many cases of that age when they have gone out and been successful and others not," Arteta said. "In my particular case, I was 17 when I went to Paris [St-Germain]. It depends on the atmosphere that you find there, and how much the coach believes in you as to whether you go there just to be part of a squad or play minutes. Which country, it depends. But now he is in a good place, let's keep him here."
Arsenal has won all seven of its domestic and European matches this season. Dowman hopes his recent performance against Ipswich will put him in contention for Saturday's Premier League match against Brighton.
"The best way to knock on the door is to do it on the pitch, not in the office," Arteta commented on Dowman's prospects. "Then you just leave out the arguments. When a player delivers constantly on the pitch, every single day in training, that's the best way, that's the best signal for the manager. That's the best signal for his team-mates, too. And what Max did the other day, alongside all the other players as well that haven't played many minutes this season, was really impressive."