Mikel Arteta has confirmed Arsenal’s 15-year-old wonderkid Max Dowman will be given a brief break after an electrifying run of pre-season performances, which have raised expectations of a potential first-team debut this season.

It may ultimately boil down to the question of whether, mentally and physically, Dowman is ready. The Arsenal players who shared a pitch with him in Wednesday night's defeat to Villarreal certainly made their feelings known.

Speaking exclusively to Sports Mole, Parlour has backed Dowman to appear in the EFL Cup later this year, although he stopped short of predicting a Premier League debut, saying: “I saw Max on tour with Arsenal in Singapore and had a good chat with him and his parents.