Mikel Arteta has awkward Max Dowman problem as Arsenal wonderkid sends clear message

Max Dowman delighted Arsenal fans earlier this week with a scintillating first outing in senior football. The 15-year-old produced a catalogue of exciting moments after coming off the bench in a pre-season win over AC Milan, and many are eager to see him given more first-team opportunities once competitive action gets underway next month.

The fact that Dowman is part of the pre-season tour at all is a testament to the calibre of talent Arsenal have on their hands. And it seems inevitable that the English wonderkid will be fast-tracked into the Gunners' first team, if not now then certainly soon, with his showing against the Rossoneri sending the clear message that he would be ready to step up if required.

Amid the excitement of Dowman's rapid development, and the development that's still to come, the fact that Mikel Arteta is heading towards a massive headache has been overlooked.

The 11-year age gap between attacking midfielder Dowman and Arsenal's current playmaker, Martin Odegaard, makes for an ideal set of circumstances by which the baton can be passed over when one is winding down and the other is ready to kick on.

When Odegaard is 30, Dowman will be 19 with the benefit of years spent watching and learning from the Norwegian. But the spanner in the works is provided by one of Arsenal's other great young talents, Ethan Nwaneri.

Like Dowman, Nwaneri can play out wide but his preferred position is as the chief No.10 creator. And the 18-year-old completely disrupts the succession plan of Odegaard handing playmaking duties over to Dowman, because he himself is fighting to take over from Arsenal's skipper.

Nwaneri put on his own electric display against Milan on Wednesday but the hype around a player two and a half years younger than him diverted the limelight in Dowman's direction.

In Nwaneri, we are not talking about just another young player. Arteta gave him his senior Arsenal debut at 15, he scored nine goals across all competitions - mostly as a 17-year-old - last campaign, and he is being talked about as one of the future stars of English football.

How, then, does Arteta balance the needs of both in the same team? Nwaneri is slightly older but by the time he and Dowman are in their mid-twenties the difference will be negligible and they will both be in their prime at roughly the same point.

Make no mistake about it, it's a fortunate problem for Arteta to have. But it's a dilemma nonetheless as the Arsenal boss will be tasked with keeping two generational talents happy when there is only one spot up for grabs.