'I spoke to Arsenal coach about wonderkid Max Dowman - this is what he said'

The family of 15-year-old English football prodigy Max Dowman have impressed Arsenal with the way they have brought him up. Dowman hasn't even reached the age to tackle his GCSE examinations, yet he's already created ripples in the Premier League.

Mikel Arteta introduced him during the north Londoners' commanding 5-0 triumph over Leeds United on the second week of the season, with the youngster instantly justifying his manager's confidence by earning a spot-kick. Nevertheless, the sole worry surrounding the teenage marvel now may be the lofty standards he's established at the Emirates Stadium, which could heap enormous expectations upon his youthful frame. Thankfully for Arsenal supporters, 1990s wonderkid Sonny Pike - who was famously dubbed the English Maradona aged 13 before abandoning football when excessive publicity and his turbulent upbringing caused him to lose passion for the sport - has revealed how the north Londoners hold Dowman's family in exceptional regard.

Pike, the owner of his one one-to-one football coaching academy and the author of a book chronicling his journey as a young prodigy, said: "I spoke to a friend of mine who's in my book. He's a coach at Arsenal. I spoke to him about Max. He said he rates him highly and thinks highly of him and his family. So I think he's in good hands."

In the early 1990s, Pike was turning heads from local and national news outlets, as well as European giant Ajax, as he netted around 100 goals a season for his local teams. His technical prowess, curly locks, yellow football boots and astonishing talent led to appearances on Blue Peter and Fantasy Football, while big brands such as McDonalds, Mizuno, Coca Cola and Paul Smith were quick to sponsor him.

His father - a builder by profession - had never shown an interest in football until he saw the commercial potential in his teenage son and eagerly accepted every media and endorsement opportunity available.

Pike's footballing dream was cut short after his dad put him forward to star in a documentary, which they believed was about his talent, but was actually about the poaching of young football players by other clubs.

As a consequence of his involvement, the FA banned him for one year, snuffing out his passion for football before he could test his talent at the highest level. Pike was the first to confess his home environment was dysfunctional and not ideal for a youngster with dreams of captaining England.

The Enfield-born football coach, having trained alongside Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart during his brief stint with Ajax, has a keen eye for talent. As thrilled as he is about Dowman, he is even more relieved about the stable and humble upbringing Arsenal's newest young star has.

Pike, discussing Dowman's mentor at Arsenal, added: "He knows me really well because I'm just a personal friend of his. I said, 'What's the environment like compared to how my house used to be?'"

"My house was wild, there was all sorts of goings on with my dad and my stepdad and everything else that went on. When I asked him if it is completely different with Max, he said, 'Yeah, it's a lot different, son.'"

While Dowman enjoys exceptional backing both at home and amongst the Gunners, Pike also called upon his team-mates to monitor the wonderkid closely.

He added: "For me, I think it's going to be an overall job for the players and all of his family to keep him grounded. It's so easy to get caught up in that sort of thing, get some money and everything else.

"I'm sure there were a lot of older pros there that have probably been through that cycle and are keeping him down on the ground and just letting him concentrate and do his football.

"I can imagine it is too easy to get involved with all the fame and everything else. The next thing you know, you're completely away from the game."