Arsenal Under-18 coach Adam Birchall insisted he was proud of his young side after their narrow FA Youth Cup defeat against Manchester United.
Playing in front of several thousand fans at a floodlit Emirates Stadium, the Gunners eventually succumbed 3-2 after extra-time.
Defeat was a bitter pill to swallow, especially for 15-year-old Max Dowman who enhanced his burgeoning reputation with an outstanding display.
The creative midfielder is already firmly on the radar of Mikel Arteta who invited Dowman to take part in the club’s recent warm weather training camp in Dubai.
Amid an almost unprecedented injury crisis, the prospect of Dowman making his first team debut before the end of the season cannot be ruled out, although the Arsenal manager revealed he would need special dispensation to make that a reality.
Speaking last month he said: ‘We have Max and many other kids it’s a big opportunity for us to see them in our environment and it’s clear on the rules with age restrictions at the moment.
‘It’s very difficult to change that as well.’
For now, at least, Dowman looks more than comfortable competing against players who should be much futher ahead of him in his development.
At times he toyed with United last night, dribbling past opponents with ease and playing the sort of defence splitting passes that Martin Odegaard would have been proud of.
Although the night may have ended in defeat, Birchall was delighted with the way his team adapted to the challenge of playing on such a big stage and maintained that every one involved would have benefitted from the experience.
‘Super proud, I said to the boys after the game that football can be cruel. They’ve given absolutely everything,’ he said.
‘For such a young team, the way they dug in and the rollercoaster of the game, to still be pushing at the end to try and get something out of it really showed the personality they have, which is definitely a bedrock to go and have a career.
‘It’s going to hurt, they’ll need the weekend maybe to get over it but then they’ve got to use that hurt on Monday and we’ll go again.’
On the thrill of playing at the Emirates in front of so many fans, he added: ‘Look around you!
‘This is a spectacular place to come and play your football. It’s where a lot of these lads will go to bed at night dreaming of playing in the end.
“When the dust settles, I know that they’ll never forget this night. But we need to make sure that this night, regardless of the score, is a springboard to go and kick on and try to build a career.’
