Overview
- Arsenal announced on January 30 that the 16-year-old has signed scholarship and pre-contract terms that will convert to a professional deal on his 17th birthday, December 31, 2026.
- Dowman has five senior appearances this season and has already become Arsenal’s youngest-ever starter and the youngest player to feature in the Champions League.
- Mikel Arteta hailed Dowman as “certainly one of the best,” drawing a high-profile comparison to a young Lionel Messi when describing his impact at 15.
- The teenager is sidelined with an ankle ligament injury suffered in December, with rehabilitation progressing and a return expected around mid-February.
- The agreement reinforces Arsenal’s Hale End pathway, cited by Dowman alongside role models Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis‑Skelly, after interest from other European clubs was reported.