Ashley Cole says Arsenal have a young player they need to be ‘careful’ with

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Young players in football have more pressure put on them than ever before.

Indeed, these young stars are the spotlight from such young ages now, and, for some, that pressure can be too much.

Jeremy Monga has recently made his Premier League debut at the age of 15, while Ethan Nwaneri made his debut at the same age a few years ago for Arsenal.

Max Dowman at Arsenal is also being tipped for big things at the age of just 15, and frighteningly, Dowman was tipped as a prospect when he was just 14.

Speaking on Peter Crouch’s podcast, Ashley Cole has been discussing Dowman’s development, and he says that it’s actually not quite fair that he’s being so hyped up at such a young age, claiming that Arsenal need to be careful with this young man.

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Arsenal need to be careful with Max Dowman

Cole spoke with Peter Crouch about Dowman and the hype surrounding this young man.

The pundit says that there may be too much expectation around the 15-year-old, claiming that the Gunners need to be careful with Dowman.

“But there’s a lot of pressure on these kids. Like we’re talking about him (Max Dowman). Has he even played a first team game yet?” Cole asked.

“No, no, no. That’s what I’m saying.” Crouch said.

“In my opinion, I think you have to be a little bit more careful on how you handle this younger generation, these young players because you heap these pressure on these players and I don’t think it’s fair. Everyone now, I bet every Arsenal fan is going like, why is he not being more involved in the first team? Why is he not getting a chance?

“It’s like, hold up. He’s doing exams as well, by the way. Similar to a Miles and all that, but like, let’s relax a little bit and, you know, let time take his toll and hopefully they’ll get the opportunity and everyone will know their name.”

Arsenal’s failed wonderkids

Arsenal’s Hale End academy has done some incredible work in recent years.

Myles Lewis-Skelly looks like a star, while Ethan Nwaneri has earned huge praise this season.

On top of that, of course, Bukayo Saka is a world-class player.

However, Arsenal have also had their fair share of hyped up youngsters who didn’t quite make the grade.

Charlie Patino was supposed to be a star, now he’s playing in Spain’s lower leagues.

Chris Willock was seen as better than Bukayo Saka at one point, now he’s in the Championship.

Meanwhile, Reiss Nelson was supposed to be a superstar, and while he’s still on Arsenal’s books, he’s never quite made it at the Emirates.

Going even further back, Jermaine Pennant scored a hat-trick on his Arsenal debut, but he never amounted to much more in north London.

As Cole says, Arsenal do need to be careful with Dowman, because, at the age of just 15, the last thing this young man can afford to do is believe his own hype.