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Rio Ferdinand has picked out a \u201cspecial\u201d Arsenal star as \u201cmassively key\u201d for Mikel Arteta in what remains of the season.<\/p>\n
The Gunners followed up the disappointment of losing the Carabao Cup final to Manchester City with a humbling defeat to Southampton in the FA Cup to leave them fighting on two fronts.<\/p>\n
They sit nine points clear at the top of the Premier League with seven games to go, albeit with second-placed City having a game in hand, and will welcome Sporting to the Emirates on Wednesday after securing a 1-0 win away from home thanks to a late Kai Havertz goal this week<\/strong>.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Arsenal are not bottlers; they are just exhausted<\/strong><\/p>\n Recent weeks have seen Arsenal struggle to create an abundance of chances, with victories increasingly reliant upon their outstanding defence and goalkeeper.<\/p>\n And Ferdinand reckons 16-year-old Max Dowman, who scored a dramatic late goal for the Gunners against Everton in their last Premier League fixture and became the youngest player ever to appear in a Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday, could make the difference for Arteta\u2019s side in the run-in.<\/p>\n \u201cHe could be the key to Mikel Arteta getting Arsenal over the line, I think he\u2019s that good,\u201d Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not got the mental scars that the other players have because of what they\u2019ve gone through in previous seasons.<\/p>\n \u201cYou might need someone like him to lean on and tell him to be fearless and help us through it without giving him too much responsibility.<\/p>\n \u201cHe could be a massive key for Arsenal in that sense.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about the impact Dowman can have for club and country over the next few months, Ferdinand added: \u201cI think he has to go (to the World Cup). I think he\u2019s special.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s doing the same thing he did through every age group in the Premier League against grown men. He\u2019s been doing the same thing in training against Arsenal players who are top of the Premier League.<\/p>\n \u201cEven the players there are going \u2018wow\u2019, even the manager is saying he\u2019s not seen anything like this from a player so young. It\u2019s crazy.<\/p>\n \u201cThose talents have to go \u2013 Michael Owen went to the World Cup young and blew up the whole world. You have to give these talents the experience and even if he went there and didn\u2019t play it would be useful for him to get used to the environment and playing at a tournament.<\/p>\n \u201cThat would be hugely valuable; we\u2019ve seen players do that before and benefit from it. I didn\u2019t play a minute at the 1998 World Cup but that experience really helped at the 2002 tournament.<\/p>\n \u201cI would love to see him go \u2013 it would be so exciting for English football. I would 100% take him \u2013 look at Spain with Lamine Yamal, I\u2019m not comparing them but they saw a special talent and took him and then he blew everyone\u2019s socks off.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/div>\n