Arsenal defender Cristhian Mosquera has likened one Gunners star to Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal
Cristhian Mosquera has delivered a glowing assessment of Arsenal wonderkid Max Dowman, declaring the 15-year-old possesses ‘Lamine-esque’ qualities. The Spanish defender says the England Youth has the potential to be world-class, like Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal.
Dowman marked his Premier League bow earlier this campaign by earning a spot-kick against Leeds United and continues to impress Gunners gaffer Mikel Arteta. The teenager has been hovering around the first-team setup for the past 18 months, with growing conviction that Arsenal possesses a genuinely exceptional prospect within their academy.
“I don’t mean to compare, but his style and way of playing is like Lamine Yamal,” Mosquera revealed to The Athletic. “His movements are Lamine-esque.
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“I didn’t have him on my radar and when I got to Singapore, he was already training and playing. When they told me he was 15, I couldn’t believe it. He really is an incredible player, and I think he’s going to be world-class.
“You see 17-and 18-year-olds like Myles [Lewis-Skelly] or Ethan [Nwaneri] and they play like they’re 30, like they’ve been playing football their whole lives. It’s incredible.”
Arteta has remained cautious about building too much pressure around Dowman’s progression, and when quizzed by football.london about how experienced players have responded to training with the youngster, the Arsenal manager delivered a brilliant reply.
“At the beginning, they responded immediately, kick him!” he laughed. “That was the first one.
“And Max, to be fair, he was excellent. He stood up and got into the next one. You can really take an impression of someone who was 14 last year at some point when he was doing certain things to players.
“And now, yeah, everybody loves him. You just want to hug him, help him. He’s such a nice boy as well, and he’s very much liked by everybody here. And just looking after us.
“It brings responsibility to look after somebody with that talent and make sure we just do what we have to do to make sure we’re giving him the best chance to exploit his talent. That’s all.”
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Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
