Max Dowman, 16, becomes youngest Premier League scorer with remarkable goal for Arsenal

Max Dowman, a 16-year-old Arsenal winger, became the Premier League's youngest ever scorer with a remarkable stoppage-time goal in his team's 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday.

Dowman collected the ball midway in his own half, dribbled around two Everton players and raced clear unchallenged from the halfway line to tap into an empty net, with Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford stranded upfield having gone forward for a corner.

An English soccer prodigy, Dowman — at 16 years, 73 days — was playing just his third Premier League match after two previous substitute appearances at the start of the season.

“He doesn’t seem to be fazed by the occasion or the moment or the context or the opponent, he just plays so naturally,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “He makes decisions to make things happen, and what he delivered was incredible.”

Asked what he said to Dowman after deciding to bring him on, Arteta replied: “Go and do your thing and win us the game.”

Dowman broke the record of former Everton player James Vaughan, who was 16 years, 270 days when he scored against Crystal Palace in 2005.

In November, Dowman became the youngest player in Champions League history at 15 years, 308 days when he entered as a second-half substitute against Slavia Prague.

Dowman is still in school. He was 14 when he was asked by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to train with the senior team in December last year and he starred on the club’s preseason tour of Asia in matches against AC Milan and Newcastle.

To abide by Premier League regulations for players under 18, Dowman has to change into his Arsenal kit for training sessions and matches in a separate locker room than his senior teammates.

1. Max Dowman: 16 years, 73 days (for Arsenal against Everton on 2026)

2. James Vaughan: 16 years, 270 days (for Everton against Crystal Palace in 2005)

3. James Milner: 16 years, 356 days (for Leeds against Sunderland in 2002)

4. Wayne Rooney: 16 years, 360 days (for Everton against Arsenal in 2002)

5. Rio Ngumoha: 16 years, 361 days (for Liverpool against Newcastle in 2025)

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Arsenal's Viktor Gyoekeres, left, and Max Dowman celevrate after a goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton in London, England, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Everton's Vitaliy Mykolenko pulls Arsenal's Max Dowman during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton in London, England, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Arsenal's Max Dowman scores during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton in London, England, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Arsenal's Max Dowman in action to scoreduring the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton in London, England, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Residents of Vilnius were told to take shelter and Lithuania's president and prime minister were taken to safe locations on Wednesday because of an alarm over drone activity near the border with Belarus, underlining jitters on NATO's eastern fringe over incursions related to Russia's war with Ukraine.

An emergency announcement from the military told people in the Vilnius region to “immediately head to a shelter or a safe place.”

The alert, which lasted for about an hour, also led to the closure of the airspace over Vilnius Airport. President Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene were taken to shelters, and there was also an evacuation order at Lithuania's parliament, the Seimas, the BNS news agency reported.

It was the first major alert that sent residents and political leaders in a European Union and NATO capital rushing to shelters since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Lithuania, a member of NATO and the European Union, borders Russia-allied Belarus to the east and Russia's Kaliningrad exclave to the west. Wednesday's alert came after the military said it detected drone activity in Belarus, but no drones were sighted over Lithuania.

In recent months, Ukrainian drones aimed at Russia have crossed or come down in NATO territory on numerous occasions. Western officials have blamed what they say is likely Russian electronic jamming of the drones. Russia, meanwhile, has renewed threats that it would retaliate if Ukrainian drones are launched from Baltic countries or if those countries are complicit in their use against Russia.

On Tuesday evening, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys wrote on social media that “Russia is deliberately redirecting Ukrainian drones into Baltic airspace while waging smear campaigns” against Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. “It’s a transparent act of desperation — an attempt to sow chaos and distract from a simple reality: (Ukraine) is hitting Russian military machine hard.”

Budrys' comment came hours after a NATO jet shot down a Ukrainian drone over southern Estonia. Ukraine apologized for that “unintended incident,” without specifying what had happened.

Last week, Latvia’s government collapsed following an argument over the handling of multiple incidents involving stray drones suspected to be from Ukraine. The defense minister was forced to quit after his party withdrew its support for him, and the prime minister then resigned. The governing coalition had been under strain for months over several other issues.

The phone shows the received message "The Lithuanian military reports: "AIR DANGER. Hurry to cover or a safe place without delay, take care of your loved ones, wait for further recommendations. We will inform you about the end of the danger in a separate message", in Vilnius, Lithuania, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

The phone shows the received message "The Lithuanian military reports: "AIR DANGER. Hurry to cover or a safe place without delay, take care of your loved ones, wait for further recommendations. We will inform you about the end of the danger in a separate message", in Vilnius, Lithuania, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)