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Max Dowman is one of eight Gunners academy players who joined the first team for a warm-weather trip in Dubai.
Arsenal Under-21 boss Mehmet Ali has shed light on the club’s decision to take academy players to the first-team’s warm-weather training camp in Dubai. The Gunners jetted out to Dubai last Thursday after their FA Cup exit at the hands of Manchester United last month gave them a gap in the calendar.
The squad included teenage stars Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly, and Tommy Setford, who have integrated into the first team this season, along with eight more academy players. Among those out in Dubai are Max Dowman, Charles Sagoe Jr, Jack Henry-Francis, Jack Porter, Josh Nichols, Ismeal Kabia, Michal Rosiak, and Nathan Butler-Oyedeji.
Ali explained that the trip is about learning, developing, and facilitating the first team. “It’s different for different players. You’ve got some of the younger ones who are coming for the first time getting a feel for what it takes to be an Arsenal first-team player,” Ali said. “And then you’ve got some of the older lads who have been in and around supporting the first team before, but ultimately, it’s about these guys coming to Dubai and trying to absorb as much information as they can from Mikel [Arteta], all of the first-team staff, and of course, all of the players as well.”
Ali emphasized the invaluable experience the young players gain from being in a 24-hour setting with the first team. “It’s like three months of development in a week, simply because you’re picking up so much information subconsciously, consciously,” he added. “They’re picking up so many different things on the pitch, off the pitch. It’s a privilege for these boys and myself to be out here.”
The academy players are also supported by staff like Mark Walter, who ensures they continue their education while on the trip. Ali believes that this holistic approach helps the young players grow both on and off the field.
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