Jack Wilshere has praised Arsenal academy prospect Max Dowman as the club considers a loan move for the 16-year-old midfielder to secure regular senior football.
Dowman has risen quickly through the youth setup in north London, setting records as the youngest Premier League winner, the youngest Champions League player, and the youngest starter in Arsenal history.
Last season he made 13 senior appearances and scored his first goal.
This season he scored twice in a 4-2 victory over Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup at Portman Road.
Wilshere Recalls Dowman's Early Breakthrough
Wilshere, who made his own senior debut for Arsenal at 16 under Arsene Wenger and went on to make 197 appearances for the club, recalled fast-tracking Dowman into the Under-18 squad when the prodigy was just 13.
"Max played for my 18s team when he was 13," the former Arsenal Under-18s coach told BBC Sport.
"I remember calling my dad because I played for the 18s when I was 14. I was like, 'was 13 too young?'"
Wilshere added.
"In the first game we could clearly see that he was ready for it," he said.
"And I remember calling my dad and saying, 'you need to come watch this kid'. My dad did, and my dad's very biased, as you could imagine.
But even he said, 'he's better than you'," Wilshere added.
Wilshere also credited manager Mikel Arteta for shaping his own transition into coaching before taking roles at Norwich City and Luton Town.
"I got to see Mikel and how he coached and the influence he was having," the Luton Town head coach said.
"I would ask him questions, why he's doing certain things, and I started to fall in love with it and how he started to prepare training sessions.
I'd get an opportunity to practice that with the 18s in the afternoon and it was something I wasn't that good at, and I felt uncomfortable at times," Wilshere added.
"I was influenced by Mikel, but then I had to learn how to teach.
I had to learn how to get that across, how to plan a session and how to get the outcomes that you wanted," he said.
"I played under some good coaches and was quite good at understanding what a coach wants, but I never dived into 'why is he asking me to do that?'
Mikel really made that clear and I was lucky enough to have a relationship where I could say, 'well, why do you want that?'
And he was open enough to share it with me," Wilshere added.
Dowman has made two senior appearances this season, including a late substitute stint during a 3-0 Premier League defeat against Brighton.
Arsenal's next fixture is scheduled against Leeds United on October 10 following the international break.
