Arsenal visit Mansfield Town in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday afternoon, and Mikel Arteta could be set to blood some Hale End graduates in the clash at Field Mill.
The Gunners are on a high after beating Brighton & Hove Albion in midweek, with the result increasing their lead to seven points at the top of the Premier League, following Manchester City’s draw with Nottingham Forest. They now have a ten-day gap between league fixtures, and can subsequently focus on other competitions as they pursue an unprecedented quadruple.
Arteta is likely to make wholesale changes for the trip to Nottinghamshire. The Spaniard will have Wednesday night’s game away at Bayer Leverkusen in mind, and thus, likely won’t risk any key players against the Stags.
Four youngsters spotted in Arsenal training
Arteta has been criticised in the past for not giving regular opportunities to academy players. However, after promoting Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri to the first team last season, this narrative has been somewhat quelled.
The divisive head coach has handed several young players minutes this season, including the aforementioned duo, as well as the likes of Max Dowman and Marli Salmon. These two emerging stars, as well as two others, might be granted an opportunity against Mansfield on Saturday.
According to Arsenal youth journalist Jeorge Bird, Dowman, Salmon, Andre Harriman-Annous and Jaden Dixon were all spotted in first team training at London Colney on Friday morning.
Dowman returned to the Arsenal senior squad for the first time in months on Wednesday against Brighton following a significant injury. The teenage sensation hasn’t featured since making a cameo appearance against Slavia Prague in November.
Salmon has already been given two run-outs in this competition, and can hope for more minutes on Saturday with Ben White struggling with injury. Meanwhile, striker Harriman-Annous will hope to make his third senior appearance this season, although given the plethora of options Arteta has in forward areas, this isn’t massively likely.
The Gunners signed centre-back Dixon from Stoke City in January, and he could be set to make his Arsenal debut if White is out. Lewis-Skelly is also suspended for the Mansfield clash, further boosting Dixon’s hopes of featuring.
Mikel Arteta needs to give Max Dowman some more minutes this season
While Harriman-Annous and Salmon are certainly talented youngsters, Max Dowman is the standout starlet emerging through Hale End right now. The 16-year-old was able to flash glimpses of his prestigious talent early in the season before injury halted his campaign.
It’s important that Arteta hands Dowman some minutes before now and the end of the season. The wonderkid needs to feel that there is a genuine path to first team minutes, and the only way to do this is to play him.
While the Gunners boss doesn’t need to trust Dowman in a high stakes Premier League or Champions League game in the run-in, even giving him a short cameo away at Mansfield will remind the player that he is a genuine part of this squad.
He’s proven already that he has the quality to contribute at senior level, and League One Mansfield shouldn’t be too significant a test.
