Max Dowman shares Champions League debut post as Declan Rice reacts to Arsenal teen

Max Dowman has shared his reaction after he made his Champions League debut on Tuesday. The 15-year-old sensation came off the bench during Arsenal's 3-0 win at Slavia Prague.

With the Gunners cruising to a tenth win in a row, Mikel Arteta decided to hand Dowman a first appearance in Europe's top-tier club competition. The 2009-born starlet came on for Leandro Trossard in the 72nd minute.

In the process, Dowman became the youngest player in Champions League history, aged 15 years and 308 days, eclipsing former Borussia Dortmund forward Youssoufa Moukoko's previous record.

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Posting on Instagram after making his Champions League bow, Dowman said: "UCL debut [star emoji]."

Leaving a message in the comment section, Declan Rice put another star emoji, Jurrien Timber posted a red love heart emoji and a crossed fingers emoji, while Charles Sagoe Jr left two red love heart emojis.

Bukayo Saka, Viktor Gyokeres, Leandro Trossard, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, David Raya, Martin Odegaard and Myles Lewis-Skelly were among his other Arsenal teammate leave a like on the post.

Reacting to Dowman's debut in the Champions League, Mikel Arteta cut a proud figure. "What he's done on the pitch is that he comes in, the first ball he takes, he takes people on, he starts to dribble, and gets a foul," he said.

"That's personality, that's courage and that you cannot teach that. You have it or you don't, and it doesn't matter what his passport says. You throw him in this context and he's ready to adapt and have a good performance.

"So, I'm really happy with that."

Dowman has made five first-team appearances for Arsenal this season. He made his senior debut off the bench in the 5-0 win against Leeds United in August, grabbing an assist by winning a late penalty.

He was, in turn, handed his first start in the Carabao Cup against Brighton last month - with the teenage sensation playing 71 minutes and impressing in a 2-0 win for the Gunners.

Back in September, Rice hailed Dowman and his 'confidence' at a such a tender age. "I said to Max on the way back from pre-season tour, I couldn't get my head around it that he was going back to school," Rice said.

"He FaceTimed the other day and he still had his school uniform on, and I was like; 'Mate, you've just played in the Premier League a week ago, and now you're walking back through the school gates'.

"Even me as a 15-year-old, with me going into West Ham’s first team dressing room, I would no way have been as confident as he was. I would've been quiet in the corner. Unless someone spoke to me, I wouldn't have spoken to them, whereas I feel like now, Max especially, he's just so confident in himself and his ability.

"The support network here is incredible and I've seen the academy - the way they work, it's insane."

Dowman may next be in action for Arsenal when the Gunners make the difficult-looking trip to face Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday.