At A Glance:
- Arsenal are looking to get back to winning ways against Sporting CP.
- The talismanic Bukayo Saka will be sidelined through injury.
- Ex-Gunners striker Alan Smith has backed Max Dowman to step up in his absence.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal will be without Bukayo Saka for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Sporting GP and ex-Gunners striker has backed Max Dowman to fill in for his fellow countryman with ease.
Having never won Europe’s top table in their history, the north Londoners will be looking to book themselves a spot in this season’s edition with a two-legged victory over Viktor Gyokeres’ former side.
A win is not a given, though, due to the fact that Arsenal are on a two-match losing streak – first to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final and Southampton in the FA Cup on the weekend just gone.
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They certainly have the firepower to storm through and into the next round – but doing so without the talismanic Saka, irrespective of the fact that he’s struggling to hit his usual form, will be a very tough ask.
Alan Smith backs Max Dowman to do the business vs Sporting
Englishman Max Dowman, 16, could be tasked with manning the right flank for Arteta’s men on Tuesday evening – and it’ll certainly be a moment for the youngster if he is to be given that chance.
His rise to prominence in the Premier League, and becoming a record-breaker in the process, has not gone unnoticed and he’ll no doubt be a vital part of Arteta’s team in the years to come.
When asked about the prospect of the teenage sensation starting against Sporting, Smith said: “If you put him in, you’re not telling him to get you of it [the slump].
“But I don’t think he would have any fears about it because there’s nothing that seems to faze the lad.
“What a moment that was against Everton. I don’t think he needed a boost in confidence but his belief would have maybe doubled after that.
“Look, Bukayo Saka isn’t going to be fit so perhaps that position on the right-hand side is up for grabs and Dowman is well in the frame. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he did make the starting XI,” Smith concluded to Sky Sports News, per The Metro.
Because Saka is currently sidelined with an injury sustained while on international duty, which caused him to withdraw from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad, Dowman and Noni Madueke are the obvious choices to replace him on the right.
Just how special is Arsenal’s Max Dowman?
Alan Smith isn’t claiming that Dowman will start in Arsenal’s Champions League encounter against Sporting. What he’s saying is that he will not disappoint if (or when!) called upon.
The youngster plays with a sort of tenacity and drive to beat a man that you’d expect for a player of that age – but he does so with such elegance and poise that stands him above the rest.
Even in Arsenal’s 2-1 loss to Southampton in the FA Cup, Max Dowman was one of the very few shining stars.
It looked as if things would happen when he picked up the ball on the flank and drove inside, looking to turn nothing into something: he was exciting, daring… fearless.
If Arsenal are to get out of their current slump, then why not place trust in the young wonderkid? He’s obviously talented enough – it’s just whether Arteta has the minerals to place him in the starting line-up.
