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)

PARIS (AP) — Protesters across France called for street demonstrations Saturday against rising living costs, joining high school students' grievances over education conditions after more than three weeks of school blockades.

Saturday’s mobilization follows calls on social media to revive the yellow vest movement, which emerged in 2018 against social injustice. Student groups protesting since mid-September have urged supporters to join.

The CGT, one of France’s major labor unions, also backs the protests, calling for “higher wages and pensions, lower prices and the protection of public services that meet people’s needs.”

President Emmanuel Macron appealed Friday for calm and respect for people and property as officials warned of possible violence.

“There is a constitutional right to protest and to express oneself, and I have always been vigilant and attentive that that right is fully respected,” Macron said Friday in Brussels. “But this right comes with the need to respect. Respect for people, respect for property, and therefore a commitment not to insult or destroy.”

Macron denounced as “unacceptable” the potential presence of people “solely to cause damage and create unrest.”

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said hundreds of protest actions and more than 80 marches were expected nationwide, including spontaneous gatherings, street demonstrations and blockades.

In Paris, a march is set to begin in the early afternoon at Republic Plaza, northeast of the city center.

Police banned some other proposed gatherings in central Paris. Many Metro stations were closed Saturday at police request, including those around the Champs-Elysees and near the presidential palace, parliament and government offices.

In recent weeks, France has seen thousands of arrests, hundreds of injuries, and schools set on fire as the new school year descended into nationwide student protests that are influencing the country's presidential election campaign and drawing international attention.

Among protesters, particularly gruesome wounds suffered by some teenagers have been blamed on police riot-control weapons. Nuñez suspended the use of a type of police stun grenade against the young demonstrators after a 15-year-old lost a hand.

On Tuesday, climate and social justice activist Greta Thunberg joined students at a high school in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.

Students chant during a protest against under-resourced schools in Rennes, France, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. The placard reads: "resist to exist." (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez)