'It's not easy' - Mikel Arteta makes Max Dowman admission after Arsenal beat Ipswich

Max Dowman lit up Portman Road with a brilliant double for Arsenal (Picture: Getty)

Mikel Arteta admitted it was ‘not easy’ to keep a lid on the ‘inevitable’ hype surrounding Max Dowman after the teenager helped inspire Arsenal to victory over Ipswich in the third round of the Carabao Cup.

The Arsenal boss decided to hand both Dowman, 16, and Marli Salmon, 17, their first starts of the season at Portman Road, with the visitors making nine changes to the team that defeated Sunderland.

Entering the tie as the overwhelming favourites to reach the fourth round, the Gunners dominated proceedings from minute one and it was Dowman who opened the scoring with a piece of solo brilliance early on.

Picking up possession from Eberechi Eze, the youngster drove forwards with purpose and shimmied past Cedric Kipre before beating Christian Walton with an effortless finish to cue rapturous celebrations amongst Arsenal’s travelling support.

Noni Madueke doubled the visitors’ advantage with a superb strike of his own in the 16th minute before Dowman took centre-stage again at the start of the second half to increase the advantage.

Mikel Merino made it four on the hour-mark and while Ipswich reduced the deficit through Anis Mehmeti and ex-Arsenal man Chuba Akpom, Mikel Arteta’s men held on to secure their progression in the competition.

The English champions will discover their fourth-round opponents upon the conclusion of Manchester United’s clash with Brighton on Wednesday.

The Gunners made light work of the Tractor Boys at Portman Road (Picture: Joe Toth/Shutterstock)

Arteta’s men extended their winning run to seven matches this season (Picture: Getty)

‘It’s a joy to have him, Marli [Salmon] as well,’ Arteta told reporters when asked about Dowman’s latest masterclass, six months on from his heroics against Everton last season.

‘Being 16 years old and playing with the physicality that they have to be able to handle that level… it’s remarkable.

‘It’s inevitable that we’re talking about Max when he scores and creates the moments that he has created tonight. It’s normal.’

Arteta is keen to contain the inevitable hype surrounding Dowman (Picture: Getty)

Asked how he planned to contain the hype surrounding Dowman, Arteta replied: ‘Depending on what he does on the pitch, it’s not easy.

‘I understand but what we have to do is look after him.

‘He’s 16 years old, you don’t see that in this league. In other leagues in Europe, that’s a totally different context.

Madueke was also on the scoresheet to help send Arsenal through (Picture: Reuters)

‘But in this league, with the demands that the league, the players and everything puts on you, we really need to make sure that every time we throw him in it’s in the right context with the right preparation.

‘And that’s what we are trying to do. We want to make sure that he’s ready to handle it when we throw him in at every level.’

While acknowledging Dowman’s tender years, Arteta said he would be treating the England Under-19 international like any other member of his first-team squad.

Zubimendi started as a makeshift full-back as the visitors made nine changes (Picture: Getty)

However, the Spaniard was keen to stress that the youngster’s workload would have to be carefully ‘managed’ in order for him to keep producing on a consistent basis.

‘It’s not just that he can run past somebody, there are a lot more things where we have to look after him,’ Arteta went on.