Arsenal told perfect Max Dowman loan destination after Arteta teases exit – ‘100 per cent I’d take him’
Rangers legend Ally McCoist has urged his old club to make an ambitious move for Arsenal wonderkid Max Dowman, after Mikel Arteta revealed he was ‘open’ to the prospect of allowing the 16-year-old to leave on loan.
Dowman is widely regarded as one of the best young talents in world football following his first-team breakthrough with the Gunners last season, and is expected to become a first-team regular for club and country in the years ahead.
The teenage talent made his first Premier League appearance of the season as a late substitute in the shock 3-0 defeat at Brighton on Saturday, but there are fears that his game time will be limited going forward – hence talk of a loan exit in January.
Current regulations mean Dowman cannot be loaned out until he turns 17 on December 31, but there is already a clamour to sign him with former Gunner Jack Wilshere’s Luton Town making enquiries.
Arteta has previously stated that he wants to develop Dowman at Emirates Stadium, but now says the club will not rule out a loan move.
“We will evaluate every six months where we are and what is the best thing for him to do and then make the right decision,’ the Spaniard said ahead of Arsenal’s clash at Brighton.
“It depends on a lot of factors. What he needs, and what the team needs as well, the availability we have in the squad, the minutes that he is playing and the qualities of those minutes.
“We have to be open, but now the focus is to be here and to impact the team.
“We haven’t really listened to any of the possibilities because we were crystal clear that we wanted to have Max in the squad, that we wanted him to be part of the pre-season and then start to see where we are from there.”
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McCoist would love Dowman at Rangers
And now, Rangers and Scotland legend McCoist is hopeful his old club could get the opportunity to develop Dowman, as they did with Tottenham starlet Mikey Moore last season.
“Aye, I would take him, 100 per cent I’d take him at Ibrox,” McCoist told talkSPORT.
“I would [loan him out]. I wouldn’t have a problem with it if Mikel Arteta thought it was the best thing for his development.
“A conversation before about, I remember, Phil Foden. I thought it had been the right thing for him to go out.
“It wasn’t because Pep Guardiola kept him and then he went on to have a fantastic period after that.
“So, I can understand the pros and cons of both, but I would not have a problem. I would be okay for him to go and get some serious game time.”
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