In the long arc of football's relationship with youth and patience, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta finds himself navigating a familiar tension: how to protect a rare talent without stunting it. Max Dowman, at 16, has already rewritten the record books as the Premier League's youngest scorer, and his two-goal Carabao Cup performance this week only deepens the dilemma. Arteta's measured response — keep him close, reassess often, let the pitch decide — reflects a wisdom that knows prodigies are not made in offices, but neither are they made by rushing them out the door.