Max Dowman: Arsenal youngster shows his class - but Gunners wary of rushing him

Max Dowman is the third 16-year-old to score for Arsenal in a League Cup game

Arsenal teenager Max Dowman shone with two goals in the 4-2 Carabao Cup win over Ipswich Town - but boss Mikel Arteta warned they cannot rush his development.

He scored two lovely goals at Portman Road to stake his claim for more minutes in the Premier League.

"We don't want to stop him, we don't want to put the brakes on him, we need to develop him and we are fully aware what he needs. He will have opportunities."

"Unbelievable, he's unpredictable, he can go either way, so fluid, so nice to watch," said Arteta.

He is just the second 16-year-old to score two goals in a game for a Premier League side in any competition, after Wayne Rooney for Everton against Wrexham in 2002 - which was also in the League Cup.

"He's an unbelievable player because of the character that he has and how much he loves to play at the biggest stage.

"In other leagues in Europe, that's a totally different context, but in this league, with the demands that the league has, the players and everything put on you, we really need to make sure every time we throw him in, he's in the right context with the right preparation."

He became the youngest Champions League player ever, aged 15, Arsenal's youngest ever starter as well as the Premier League's youngest starter, goalscorer and title winner.

In fact his strike, where he ran the ball halfway down the pitch before scoring into an empty net - with Jordan Pickford upfield - was voted Arsenal's goal of the season.

He received his GCSEs from Brentwood School in the summer and left school to focus on his football career.

"But just give him time and how they are handling him is perfect. What you don't want to do is not give him the amount of game time he needs. He is an elite player."