Arsenal have had to deal with the hype surrounding Max Dowman in light of his historic feat, but they’ve been here before with Charlie Patino, who was hailed as one of their best academy products
12:02, 03 Apr 2026Updated 12:21, 03 Apr 2026
Charlie Patino was tipped to reach the top after scoring on his Arsenal debut(Image: PA)
It is hard not to get excited about one of your own, and when one Charlie Patino was hailed as “the best player who has ever walked through the doors at Hale End” Arsenal must’ve thought they had a gem.
History tells us that such plaudits don’t always guarantee a first-team regular for the next decade – and after scoring on his debut in the Carabao Cup the midfield sensation did little else in an Arsenal shirt.
Patino’s name was up in lights back in December of 2021 when he scored in a 5-1 victory over Sunderland at the Emirates. He came on as a sub and got on the scoresheet in stoppage time, with the attention squarely fixed on the then 18-year-old.
Patino was born two months into Arsenal’s famous Invincibles season of 2003/04, but fast forward nearly six years and there’s no chance of him being part of the next generation of possible title winners at the Gunners.
Now 22, the youngster who began life at Luton before being signed by the Arsenal at the age of 11, is plying his trade in Spain’s second tier with Deportivo La Coruna. In 2004 they were Champions League semi-finalists, twenty years later and they were in the third tier, with their struggles somewhat shared by Patino himself.
READ MORE: Liverpool and Arsenal primed for blockbuster transfer as Aston Villa exit stance made clearREAD MORE: Thierry Henry names Liverpool player who has surprised him and needs ‘a lot of credit’
This is a player who, by Mikel Arteta’s own admission, was constantly training above his age grade until he became a weekly fixture in the first-team environment as a teenager.
The Arsenal boss was not blind to the hype that was building around Patino. His goal against Sunderland only saw that ramp up, but whilst he revelled in the teenager’s breakout moment, he suggested that he was “lucky”.
“I see that! I saw it around the club,” claimed Arteta. “They heard about him and know what he can become – and now we have to cook him slowly. Today was a good start. He still has a lot of competition in front of him. He is really young. And he needs to go step by step. Today he was lucky, he got the opportunity and he took it really well.”
Charlie Patino moved to Deportivo La Coruna in 2024
If Arteta was looking to “cook him slowly”, its fair to say he got that recipe horribly wrong. Maybe the hype around him was unjustified, but people who are paid to know their stuff clearly thought he was the real deal. Arsenal academy scout Shaun O’Connor claimed he was the best he’d seen. Brian Stapleton, the scout that discovered Patino said: “He was way above his years, he was on another planet to anyone else on the pitch.”
His technical qualities were not up for debate, he looked as silky as they come. But when Patino was loaned out to the Championship his flaws became more evident, which no doubt impacted on how he was viewed by Arteta.
The midfielder headed off to Blackpool and Swansea to further his development, but it didn’t turn out that way. His lack of physicality was exposed and he found it difficult when deprived of time and space.
Max Dowman recently became the Premier League’s youngest ever goalscorer(Image: Getty)
So despite playing 72 matches for clubs in the second tier Patino returned to Arsenal as a man that was deemed surplus, and that was highlighted by the willingness to offload the midfielder for just £1million in the summer of 2004. His debut year at Deportivo was not the dream he hoped for, but he’s playing more regularly for a team sitting second and set for promotion to La Liga. So maybe he just had to go about the houses to get to where he wanted to be.
Nursing academy talents has proved to be a trick that Arteta is yet to master. He made Ethan Nwaneri the club’s youngest ever player. Myles Lewis-Skelly was the name on everyone’s lips last year. Both men have seen their growth stunted by a lack of minutes this year, so much so that Nwaneri had to leave on loan.
And so to Max Dowman. Now the Premier League’s youngest ever goalscorer. He was being trusted to come off the bench at Anfield earlier this season when he was just 15. Arteta has talked up the 16-year-old in light of his historic feat against Everton only last month.
Like Patino, Dowman has enjoyed highlight reel-worthy moments for Arsenal and England’s youth teams. But unlike Patino, Dowman will hope his moment in the sun at the Emirates wasn’t a false dawn.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.