Mikel Merino reveals secret to keeping Arsenal wonderkid Max Dowman, 16, grounded after running game against Ipswich

MIKEL ARTETA is well aware it will be hard to control the hype around teen stars Marli Salmon and Max Dowman. But the Arsenal boss can at least rest easy knowing the “veterans” in his dressing room are keeping the pair grounded. Max Dowman scored twice as Arsenal beat Ipswich 4-2 in the Carabao Cup third round Credit: Getty Mikel Merino has compared Dowman to fellow teen star Lamine Yamal Credit: Getty Dowman, 16, continued his remarkable rise on Tuesday night and scored twice as the Gunners beat Ipswich 4-2 to reach the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. Just as impressive, though, was the performance of Salmon – who slotted into the defence despite turning 17 less than three weeks ago. Sign up for the Arsenal newsletter Thank you! Arsenal’s famous Hale End academy has produced two more stars, and those in the first-team dressing room are ready to make sure they shine. Mikel Merino, Arsenal’s captain for the win at Ipswich, said: “It’s hard nowadays, times have changed. “When I was 17, there were no good manners. They would slap you if you did something bad. “It is a mixture between giving them the carrot, when they do something great. But at the same time, when they are a bit lazy and not defending how they are supposed to, then say it. “What is important is how you balance that. Don’t give them too much of one or the other, because that equilibrium is important to develop them. “Max is an unbelievable talent, honestly, so young, so alive and you can see the joy in his eyes when he plays football. Most read in Sport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS Marli Salmon impressed alongside Gabriel in defence against Ipswich Credit: PA “Obviously, he has many things to improve – he’s very young – he needs to keep listening and learning from the veterans. “But we’re here to support him and we’re going to get him to the best version of himself, for sure.” Merino knows a thing or two about working with teen stars, given he plays for Spain alongside Lamine Yamal. And the Arsenal midfielder can see similarities between the Barcelona winger and Dowman. He said: “They don’t care about the spotlight. They thrive when pressure is at the highest. “They are always up for the challenge and they are not shy at all – even facing the biggest names in the game. So, they are very similar. “The good thing with these kind of players – Lamine and Max – is that they are special talents, but at the same time they are very humble. “They are always keen to learn and listen to the veterans. That is priceless. So we are very happy to have Max. “But at the same time he knows that we are here to help him. And, sometimes, even if we push him a little bit, he knows it’s for his own good.” Part of that desire to “push” Dowman or Salmon involves giving them a cheeky kick in training every now and then. Dowman has learned that after working with the first team since he was 14 years old. Players would give him a little kick if he nutmegged them and, given the way he terrorised Ipswich, that may have happened a fair few times. There has also, however, been plenty of the “carrot” that Merino mentioned. Declan Rice is especially close to Dowman and gives him lots of advice, as well as championing his talent on social media and in interviews. Salmon has been given guidance by centre-back Gabriel, while throughout Tuesday night’s game Merino was feeding him tactical instructions. The Spaniard explained: “In that position as a centre-back, you need to be very mature. “It’s very important that you don’t make many mistakes. Every action is crucial. “It’s the same as with Max, Marli is an unbelievable talent. He is always keen to learn and me as a veteran – and Gabriel in this case, too – formed a partnership. “We tried to explain things to him, either tactically or from the game. “If we have got one thing, it’s experience. We have committed mistakes and we learned from them. We try to teach them our experiences and they are very good at listening.” Dowman and Salmon may be great listeners, but Arteta wants them to find their “voice” in the dressing room. That will be easier when the pair both turn 18 and can get changed with their team-mates, as right now safeguarding rules forbid them from doing so. That is a reminder of just how young the duo are, and this was only their first starts of the season. There should be a fair few more if Arsenal go deep in the Carabao Cup – especially for Dowman. Arteta has admitted “everything is possible” for the teenager and this feels like just the start of ‘Dowmania’. Comment now