Three Guinness World Records for Max Dowman, Arsenal's 16-year-old gem

Max Dowman, 16, received three Guinness World Records certificates on Thursday rewarding an extraordinary first professional season with Arsenal. Born in late 2009, the English striker has already etched his name in the history books of English and European football before turning 17.

It was a goal scored against Everton on March 14 that launched the legend. Coming on as a substitute during the match, Dowman found the back of the net late in the game to seal the Gunners’ victory, a crucial win in the Premier League title race. At 16 years and 73 days that evening, he officially became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the English championship.

His title triumph at the end of the season earned him a second certificate: at 16 years and 144 days, Dowman is the youngest player to have won the Premier League. A third record completes the picture, this time on a European scale: his appearance as a substitute against Slavia Prague in the UEFA Champions League, at 15 years and 308 days, makes him the youngest player to have competed in the elite club competition.

Precocity is no longer a curiosity in modern football, where clubs no longer hesitate to bring 16 or 17-year-old teenagers into the professional ranks. But the accumulation of three historic milestones in a single season places Dowman in a category of his own, and suggests a trajectory that few players of his generation can hope for.