Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has named Max Dowman as the Arsenal star to keep an eye on in the Premier League title run-in.

The Gunners, who have been eliminated from both the FA Cup and EFL Cup, have positioned themselves as the Premier League title favourites this season. They are on 70 points from 31 games, with Manchester City trailing them with 61 points from 30 league matches so far.

During a recent chat on his YouTube channel, Ferdinand claimed Dowman is likely to positively influence Arsenal’s remaining seven league outings. He remarked (h/t Arsenal Insider):

“Max Dowman could be the biggest factor in Arsenal winning the league from this point on. I want to see him protected, I need to see him protected, and this is how I want to see Mikel Arteta do that. Lamine Yamal, Neymar, Cristiano, and (Thierry) Henry all played out wide in the early parts of their careers. Why? To protect them.”

Urging Gunners boss Mikel Arteta to use Dowman in rotation with Bukayo Saka in the next two months, Ferdinand added:

“Play them out wide where there’s less contact at times, you can see more of the game, the game is a bit slower out there at times, if he positions himself well, allow him to have the freedom to roam inside at times. But starting him and always being in there can be a big hindrance in terms of his physicality long term.”

Ferdinand, a six-time Premier League winner, concluded:

“I don’t want to see him become a (Jack) Wilshere, who coached him and spoke greatly about him. I don’t want to see him become a Wilshere, a huge talent, but involved in far too many collisions in the middle of the park too early in his career, and that was a massive dent in his career, going to where maybe it should have gone without those injuries.”

How excellent has Max Dowman performed for Arsenal in ongoing breakout campaign?

Max Dowman turned a lot of heads with his fine senior debut for Arsenal on August 23 last year. He provided an assist during his 26-minute cameo in the Gunners’ 5-0 Premier League home win over Leeds United.

The left-footed inverted winger, who turned 16 last December, featured in a couple of matches across competitions before suffering an ankle issue last December. He recovered from his injury last month and immediately made headlines with his goal against Everton in the Premier League.

So far, Dowman has made eight total senior appearances.