Some stories just write themselves, don’t they?
Hours after the surprising news of JJ Gabriel’s desire to leave Manchester United broke, Max Dowman took to the pitch and starred in Arsenal’s Carabao Cup victory against Ipswich Town.
Given the nod in the No. 10 role behind Viktor Gyokeres while Eberechi Eze played on the left, 16-year-old Dowman opened the scoring with only seven minutes on the clock and added a second less than two minutes into the second half.
His first was a beautiful goal, with Dowman’s effortless dribbling ability on show and the sort of instinctive finishing you expect from an experienced striker, on his weaker right foot, no less. His second displayed his immense composure and single-mindedness as his team-mates appealed for a penalty and he got his head down and passed the ball into the bottom corner.
Even before scoring twice, Dowman starting for Arsenal on Tuesday night was enough of a reminder that being in the right environment with the right manager is just as important as having the same support off the pitch. And if reports are to be believed, young Gabriel is not being led particularly well by his father, who is also his agent.
We won’t get into that because it’s a lot of hearsay, but you can’t imagine that a 15-year-old in the first-team set-up has decided to hand in a transfer request due to a lack of opportunities without his entourage having something pretty big to do with it.
It’s a potentially very damaging move for Gabriel’s long-term future. He is hot property and wanted by lots of elite clubs after making it clear he wants out of Old Trafford, but all of the talent in the world is not always enough and, if reports about the influence of those around him are accurate, his stock might have already peaked… as a child.
Dowman isn’t the flavour of the month anymore. He’s almost old news after his moments of magic last season, and tempering those expectations and containing the hype is helping him look even more impressive every time he plays for Arsenal.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has done a superb job of keeping Dowman’s feet on the ground and ensuring there is not too much pressure at an age when he just wants to play football and develop. He can become the Premier League’s youngest goalscorer one week and return to under-21 football the next.
Just when the hype begins to go overboard, he is taken out of the firing line, and when you begin to forget about Dowman’s existence, he suddenly pops up with an exciting performance in the cup or a positive cameo off the bench in the Premier League or Champions League.
Arsenal and Arteta have managed Dowman perfectly so far, exposing him to the bright lights at the right time and taking him out of them when they deem appropriate. A potential superstar at a globally recognised club such as Arsenal doesn’t need to be playing every single week, and Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Ethan Nwaneri – who is currently on loan at Borussia Dortmund – being more established options certainly helps.
Everything is in place for Dowman to thrive on the pitch and Arteta, his staff and the youth-team staff are not the only people responsible for that, which Tuesday’s Gabriel news underlines.
Gabriel and Dowman are at two of the biggest clubs in the country; they are in extraordinary situations. One camp realises and appreciates that, while the other seems to think they are entitled to more.
The remarkable aspect of the Gabriel story is not that Manchester United failed to provide a pathway, but that a pathway leading towards their first team before his 16th birthday was apparently still not enough.
The Gunners’ management of Dowman offers a timely contrast. They have hardly hidden their belief in his extraordinary ability, nor denied him opportunities that his performances have merited. But they have also refused to let the excitement surrounding him determine his schedule.
A pathway ceases to be a pathway if a teenage player and his representatives expect to dictate every step along it. It’s a two-way street and, if the reports surrounding his situation are accurate, Gabriel is in danger of being led astray.
His opportunities were coming and might have come as soon as tomorrow against Brighton, in the same competition in which Dowman has been handed several of his own.
Arsenal’s win at Portman Road on Tuesday illustrates what a functioning pathway actually looks like and Gabriel’s representatives should take note.
Arsenal, meanwhile, will be delighted they have a supreme talent on their hands, and one whose maturity and support network are making all the difference at this ridiculously early stage of his career.
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