Max Dowman joins exclusive club with Wayne Rooney as Mikel Arteta purrs over Arsenal star’s ‘silk’

Max Dowman became just the second 16-year-old to score two goals in a game for a Premier League side across all competitions.

The Arsenal academy graduate netted twice in his side’s 4-2 win over Ipswich in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup clash at Portman Road.

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Dowman’s heroics sees him join Wayne Rooney on the exclusive list following his League Cup double for Everton against Wrexham in October 2002.

The teenager registered his second and third goals for the Gunners at senior level with fans left purring by his opener on the night.

After just six minutes, Dowman collected the ball midway into the Ipswich half before cantering his way towards goal.

Appearing as though he was shaping up to play Eberechi Eze in on goal, he cut inside instead with a superb dummy to deceive Ipswich’s Cedric Kipre.

He then topped it off with a cool finish in the bottom corner to hand his side the lead.

It set the tone for another fine result for Mikel Arteta's side, with the Gunners boss opting to field a host of fringe players for the cup tie.

Noni Madueke doubled Arsenal's advantage before Dowman netted his second of the night shortly after the interval.

Mikel Merino made it 4-0 to Arsenal before the Tractor Boys made a fist of it with two late goals to make the scoreline look somewhat respectable.

The win hands Arsenal safe passage into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

But the night belonged to Dowman who wrote yet another piece of footballing history.

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The midfielder is already the Premier League’s youngest ever goalscorer following his unforgettable strike in the Gunners’ win over Everton last season.

Arteta: Max is a joy to watch

Gunners boss Arteta was of course waxing lyrical about the boy wonder, saying post-match: "When the game opens up a little bit he's incredible at carrying the ball, eliminating players, dribbling and finishing action.

"It was a joy to watch him.

Commenting on Dowman's technique for his first goal, Arteta said: "Unbelievable. That's the thing that he can do. He's so unpredictable. He can go either way.

"He stops you, accelerates, changes direction. He's so fluid and so nice to watch as well. The left footer is even nicer to watch. He was silk."

The perfect response

And Dowman, who was left out of the squad for last Saturday’s 2-0 win at Sunderland certainly gave Arteta plenty of food for thought with his display.

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“I wish we could have him [against Sunderland], but we have the limitation with the numbers that we can have,” Arteta previously said.

“He will have his chance, he will have his minutes, and he will have to earn them like anybody else.

“We know the talent that we have, we know the player that we have there, and we need to help him and find a way to make sure that he continues to develop and help the team.”

Arsenal are back in action this weekend when they travel to Brighton on Saturday afternoon aiming to continue their 100 per cent start to the season.