‘It’s not fair’ – Ashley Cole tells fans to ‘relax’ over Arsenal youngster

Ashley Cole has urged Arsenal supporters to ‘relax’ and give Max Dowman the time and space he needs to develop at his own pace at this early stage of his career.

Dowman, 15, is considered to be among the most promising young talents in Arsenal’s academy and has been widely tipped for a big future in Mikel Arteta’s first-team.

Teenage duo Myles Lewis-Skelly, 18, and Ethan Nwaneri, 17, have both enjoyed remarkable breakthrough seasons this term, emerging from the Hale End youth ranks to establish themselves as genuine stars in north London.

And while Dowman is yet to make his senior bow, the England Under-17 midfielder became the youngest ever Premier League 2 player in December and has trained with Arteta’s squad with increasing frequency in recent months.

‘I have had so many texts about Max recently,’ Arsenal and England midfielder Declan Rice told the BBC when asked about Dowman last month.

‘At 15, there is such a long way to go. You can be the best 15-year-old in the country, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to be at 18 so you need to be hungry, keep working and keep pushing.

‘I speak to Max a lot and he has got such a good family around him. He is unreal.’

Featuring as a guest on the latest episode of That Peter Crouch Podcast, former Arsenal left-back Cole suggested ‘everyone would know’ Dowman’s name before too long should he continue on the same trajectory.

But Cole warned fans against putting too much pressure on the teen given he is yet to even play a single minute for the Gunners’ first-team.

‘He’s another one who has come through the Arsenal ranks,’ the legendary ex-England full-back said.

‘With everything online now, you get to see little clips of these players. It’s tough because I don’t know how they handle pressure.

‘Firstly, you’re giving these players a platform. There are companies on Instagram that post youth team games and clips of players and it’s great because the players are getting exposure.

‘But on the flip side of that, it’s also adding pressure and do you want to add pressure to a 16-year-old? Their time will come.

‘If they can keep continuing to do what they’re doing and playing well, everyone will know their name in two or three years. But there is a lot of pressure on these kids.

‘We’re talking about him but has he even played a first-team game yet? In my opinion, you have to be a little bit more careful on how how you handle this younger generation of players.’

According to Cole, the level of expectation and pressure on Dowman’s shoulders is ‘unfair’.

‘You heap this pressure on these players and I don’t think it’s fair,’ he added.

‘I bet every Arsenal fan is going, “Why is he [Dowman] not being more involved in the first-team? Why is he not getting a chance?”, but hold up.

‘He’s doing exams as well, by the way! Similar to Myles [Lewis-Skelly] but let’s relax a little bit and let time take its toll and hopefully they will get their opportunity and then everyone will know their name.’

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