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Arsenal and Spain midfielder Mikel Merino has drawn comparisons between Gunners prodigy Max Dowman and Barcelona star Lamine Yamal, following the 16-year-old's standout performance in Tuesday's Carabao Cup win against Ipswich Town.
Dowman scored two of Arsenal's goals in a thrilling 4–2 victory, becoming only the second 16-year-old in history to score a brace for a Premier League club across all competitions, joining England and Manchester United icon Wayne Rooney, who achieved the feat for Everton 24 years ago.
Such praise has been a regular occurrence for Yamal throughout his three seasons in senior football, and Merino, who lines up alongside the Barcelona youngster at international level, acknowledged that Dowman has displayed striking similarities to a player now widely regarded as among the finest in the world.
"There are some similarities in terms of their character," Merino 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.
"[Dowman] is an unbelievable talent. We knew it, but every time he goes on the pitch and plays against grown men he makes the difference. He is a big talent and we have to take care of him.
"We have to keep pushing him. He needs to keep learning—eyes and ears open always. There is still big room for improvement in a lot of areas and he knows that. So we are going to be by his side trying to get him to his best level.
"It is a thin line. It is very difficult to have equilibrium sometimes with him, because obviously you want him to shine and show everyone the talent that he has. But you have to sometimes remind them that they are human beings and they are part of a bigger squad and team.
"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."
Why Arsenal Must Be Patient With Dowman
Dowman, who celebrates his 17th birthday on Dec. 31, now has three goals and an assist across 14 appearances for Mikel Arteta's first team.
While his ability to make an impact at senior level is no longer in question, Arteta stressed that Dowman must exercise greater patience than Yamal or other young talents around the world, due to the exceptional demands of the Premier League, which the manager believes is not ideally suited to nurturing youth players.
"Everything is possible," Arteta said when asked whether Dowman could become a regular starter. "The probability probably is extremely low, because you don't see the players with the capacity to handle just the physicality of the game.
"Not only that, but the demands that you have to put your bodies through in the week to be able to be in a good condition to compete, the amount of information, the challenges that you have to face.
"But he's doing it, and he's doing it really well every time he's got a chance. What we have to do is look after him. He's 16 years old, you don't see that in this league.
"In other leagues in Europe, that's a totally different context. But in this league, with the demands that the league, the players and everything puts on you, we really need to make sure every time we throw him in, he's in the right context with the right preparation, and that's what we are trying to do.
"We're going to make sure that when we just throw him there, he's ready to handle that at every level, and it's not just that he can run past somebody.
"There's a lot more things that we need to look after him. The only thing that we have to manage is that he needs to constantly be aware that he needs to be prepared for what he needs to do."