Mikel Arteta heaped praise on 16-year-olds Max Dowman and Marli Salmon after they helped Arsenal reach the FA Cup quarterfinal with a win over Wrexham.
Dowman became Arsenal’s youngest ever FA Cup player at 16 years and 66 days, while Salmon made his first senior start, marking the first time a Premier League side has fielded two players aged 16 or under in a starting XI. Arteta also highlighted 18-year-old Jaden Dixon, who made his debut off the bench, saying there is “plenty more to come” from the club’s young talents.
“Very proud of him, very proud as well of Marli,” Arteta said. “Obviously two 16-year-olds starting in the FA Cup. That tells us a lot about them, their personality and the quality that they have. Max, I think, was exceptional.”
Addressing Salmon’s role in the equaliser conceded to Mansfield Town, Arteta added:
“I have to watch it back, but I could sense that he was responsible. And it is good in a way but don’t lose perspective because everybody that has been in that room, that has been at this level, has made an error, a mistake, or a situation leading to a goal. But that’s not important. The important thing is the way he played and some of the things that he’s done on the pitch. I think that’s much more important than the other part.”
Arsenal eventually won 2-1 thanks to Eberechi Eze’s late strike at a sold-out One Call Stadium. Noni Madueke opened the scoring for the visitors, but Mansfield’s half-time introduction Will Evans equalised before Eze restored the Gunners’ lead.
Arteta had made nine changes to the team that beat Brighton in the Premier League, including starting Dowman and Salmon, and even deployed an unfamiliar three-man defence that the players had trained in only once for 10 minutes. Despite the unusual lineup, Arsenal survived the challenge and moved into the FA Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2020 – Arteta’s first season in charge.
The win also marked Arsenal’s 35th victory of the season across all competitions, setting a new club record for wins in a single campaign under Arteta.
