‘It’s not easy’ – Mikel Arteta makes honest Max Dowman admission after Arsenal beat Ipswich | Football

Mikel Arteta admitted it was ‘not easy’ to keep a lid on the ‘inevitable’ hype surrounding Max Dowman after the teenager helped inspire Arsenal to victory over Ipswich in the third round of the Carabao Cup.

The Arsenal boss decided to hand both Dowman, 16, and Marli Salmon, 17, their first starts of the season at Portman Road, with the visitors making nine changes to the team that defeated Sunderland.

Entering the tie as the overwhelming favourites to reach the fourth round, the Gunners dominated proceedings from minute one and it was Dowman who opened the scoring with a piece of solo brilliance early on.

Picking up possession from Eberechi Eze, the youngster drove forwards with purpose and danced past Cedric Kipre before beating Christian Walton with an effortless finish to cue rapturous celebrations amongst Arsenal’s travelling support.

Noni Madueke doubled the visitors’ advantage with a superb strike of his own in the 16th minute before Dowman took centre-stage again at the start of the second half to increase the advantage.

Mikel Merino made it four on the hour-mark and while Ipswich reduced the defict through Anis Mehmeti and ex-Arsenal man Chuba Akpom, Mikel Arteta’s men held on to secure their progression in the competition.

The English champions will discover their fourth-round opponents following Manchester United’s clash with Brighton on Wednesday.

‘It’s a joy to have him, Marli [Salmon] as well,’ Arteta said when asked about Dowman’s latest masterclass at his post-match press conference.

‘Being 16 years old and playing with the physicality that they have to be able to handle that level… it’s remarkable.

‘It’s inevitable that we’re talking about Max when he scores and creates the moments that he has created tonight. It’s normal.’

Asked how he planned to contain the hype surrounding Dowman, Arteta replied: ‘Depending on what he does on the pitch, it’s not easy.

‘I understand but what we have to do is look after him.

‘He’s 16 years old, you don’t see that in this league. In other leagues in Europe, that’s a totally different context.

‘But in this league, with the demands that the league, the players and everything puts on you, we really need to make sure that every time we throw him in it’s in the right context with the right preparation.

‘And that’s what we are trying to do. We want to make sure that he’s ready to handle it when we throw him in at every level.’

While acknowledging Dowman’s tender years, Arteta said that he would be treating the England Under-19 international like any other member of his first-team squad.

However, the Spaniard was keen to stress that the youngster’s workload would have to be carefully ‘managed’ in order for him to keep producing on a consistent basis.

‘It’s not just that he can run past somebody, there are a lot more things where we have to look after him,’ Arteta went on.

‘He will dictate that in terms of how he behaves in every single day and how many reasons he gives us to play him because he’s part of our squad like anybody else.

‘The only thing we need to manage is to constantly be aware that he needs to be prepared to do what he needs to do.

Arsenal switch their attentions back to Premier League matters with a trip to the south coast to do battle with Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton this weekend.

The north Londoners boast a 100 per cent record at this embryonic stage of the season, winning seven from seven in all competitions.

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