Max Dowman spent Arsenal's latest training week somewhere far less glamorous than the club’s practice pitches. The 16-year-old, the youngest Premier League winner in history, was missing because he was sitting his GCSE exams. Arsenal returned to training on Thursday, two days after sealing their first Premier League title in 22 years, and the club is already moving on to Sunday’s away match at Crystal Palace before the Champions League final against Paris Saint Germain on Saturday 30 May.

Why Dowman's week stands out

The oddity here is not just the timing, it is the age. Max Dowman is 16, already a Premier League winner, and already part of a squad that is deep into a title run-in and a European final build-up. That is a strange mix even by modern academy standards.

The brief does not show him as a token presence around the squad either. Dowman has made 5 Premier League appearances and logged 100 minutes, which tells you Arsenal have trusted him enough to use him in the league title chase. His 6.78 Premier League rating is solid for a teenager breaking through in a side that has spent the season at the top.

BBC Sport reported: "There was, however, no sign of 16-year-old Max Dowman, with the teenager instead sitting his GCSE exams."

That is the most ordinary explanation possible for a player in an entirely unordinary position. One minute he is part of a title-winning Premier League squad, the next he is in an exam hall while the rest of the group is back in training.

BBC Sport also said: "Once that is out of the way, Arsenal have a Champions League final against Paris-St Germain to get ready for on Saturday 30 May."

That is where the club's attention sits now. Arsenal have the league title in hand, but they are still active in the season, with Crystal Palace away on Sunday and a Champions League final against Paris Saint Germain still to come. Dowman's GCSE week is a reminder that even inside a team chasing European silverware, one player’s schedule can still look like a normal school timetable.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →