Alan Shearer 'can't stay silent' about Arsenal star as Gary Lineker issues warning
Arsenal beat Brighton 2-0 in the Carabao Cup this week, with Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker discussing the display of Max Dowman and how Mikel Arteta should handle his involvement with the senior team
Alan Shearer has made his feelings clear on Max Dowman after his performance for Arsenal against Brighton in the Carabao Cup fourth round. The 15-year-old was handed his first senior start for the Gunners on Wednesday evening and impressed in his 71 minutes on the pitch.
Two other Hale End academy graduates were on the score sheet with Ethan Nwaneri and Bukayo Saka on target in the second half. Another big story on the night was Andre Harriman-Annous being named in the starting XI alongside Dowman with Pierro Hincapie making his first start since joining the club this past summer.
Coming out of the 2-0 win, all the talk is about Dowman with Gary Lineker full of praise for the teenager in the latest Rest is Football Podcast to Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, but also wary of putting too much pressure on him.
"Max Dowman had the most dribbles completed, the most fouls and duels won at 15-years-old, my goodness me," he said.
"Incredible. He [Arteta] has obviously got to get the balance right in terms of playing him and protecting him, but bloody hell man wow, 15, to go and play on that stage and just look right. He looks as if he belongs there."
Lineker went on to directly quote Arteta's comments on the teenager from his post-match press conference before continuing, "I think people are thinking a generational talent, maybe England have found one. But you have to be slightly hesitant, not build him too much..."
Shearer then interrupted and said: "But you can't not talk about him, Gaz. You have to."
Lineker added: "Yeah you can't, it's like Lamine Yamal we talked about him when he was 15/16. If there's something as exciting and talented as Max Dowman, then let's talk about him. Ultimately, how well he does will be how he handles this and he seems to be someone mature beyond his years.
"He'll have to deal with fame at a very early age which is not easy, but we've seen it before with young talent. It's going to be really interesting following his career and seeing how Arteta does deal with him. It's like anything, if he's that good, you find a way to play him."
The trio also discussed Arsenal's general performance against Brighton with the victory and clean sheet made even more impressive in their eyes considering 10 changes were made.
Lineker said: "He [Arteta] rotated a significant amount, but it shows you the strength in depth that Arsenal now have. I thought Brighton gave a good fist of themselves, particularly in the first half. Kepa came into play and made one or two very good saves, but they've won again."
Richards then said: "They changed the whole of the back four as well. Look at this for a second string defence, Ben White, Mosquera, Hincapie and Myles Lewis-Skelly. That is a second-choice back four - that is ridiculous. Arsenal now are really cooking on something."
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.