Mikel Arteta has admitted that he is tempted to play the 15-year-old Max Dowman against Brighton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night. “When you look at what he does in training you have to play him,” the Arsenal manager said.

Dowman made a pair of Premier League appearances in August, having been a sensation in pre‑season. His most recent first‑team involvement was as a substitute at Port Vale in the Carabao Cup on 24 September. As with the careful management of Ethan Nwaneri, who may also play his part at the Emirates Stadium against Brighton, Arsenal have mapped out Dowman’s development. He was an unused substitute last week in the Champions League defeat of Athletic Bilbao.

Arteta said: “I am calm over it because what we have decided for him for the first few months is happening. When we have to give him games, whether it is in the Youth Cup or with the under-21s or with us, he has that. He has a lot of exposure in training with us, too.

“A lot of new things are happening to him with the national team, playing with two different age groups, and with us, and then preparing games...