Wayne Rooney: Arsenal's Max Dowman is the name on everybody's lips

Wayne Rooney says Max Dowman has got the whole football world talking as he offered the Arsenal teenager advice following his Premier League debut.

By coming off the bench during Arsenal's 5-0 win over Leeds United on Saturday, Dowman became the second-youngest player to play for the club at 15 years and 234 days old.

Rooney is among the few who can relate to the Arsenal winger's experience.

He made his Everton debut aged 16 in August 2002 and was still five days short of his 17th birthday when he scored a stunning late winner against Arsenal two months later - becoming the Premier League's youngest scorer at the time.

Speaking on his new BBC podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show, Rooney reflected on personal experience of making his first-team debut so young and some of the challenges Dowman is likely to face in the coming months and years.

"To play at that age in the Premier League is crazy," Rooney said. "I know I played when I was young, but I think he's like 150 days younger than I was or more.

"It's just refreshing to see a young lad get his opportunity, and, even though he's playing for Arsenal, every time he cuts inside you go 'shoot'. You want him to put it in the top corner."

While there was no debut goal for Dowman, he did win a penalty late on. Rooney was relieved that the 15-year-old was not given the responsibility of taking it.

"If he gets it and scores, it's great, but I was thinking if he misses that's the difference in being an absolute success story and... all of sudden you get everyone, not everyone, but online people having a go at him," the former Manchester United striker added.

"So I was really pleased he didn't, but it was such an impressive debut."

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