Arsenal wonderkid Max Dowman, 15, sends three-word message to new Liverpool star Rio Ngumoha, 16, after his last minute heroics at Newcastle

The plaudits for Rio Ngumoha are flooding in. with Arsenal’s very own wonderboy hailing the Liverpool youngster’s star turn in his side’s win over Newcastle.

Ngumoha wrote himself into Reds folklore on Monday night when he scored in second-half stoppage-time to give them a 3-2 win at Newcastle United.

The 16-year-old, who turns 17 on Friday, is now Liverpool’s youngest scorer in their fabled history with that strike in what proved to be a fairytale English top-flight debut.

The fallout from St James’ Park has all been about Ngumoha and the forward’s impact has been noticed by those at Arsenal – who they host on Sunday afternoon at Anfield.

Taking to Instagram, the Gunners’ teenage sensation Max Dowman, 15, gave his own flowers to Ngumoha.

Sharing a post as an Instagram story of Ngumoha coming on as a substitute and then celebrating after scoring, Dowman simply wrote: ‘The best @rio_ngumoha’ alongside a loveheart emoji.

The pair are good friends having played together for England Under 17s on many occasions and Dowman’s post reflects that.

While Monday was all about Ngumoha, on Saturday the spotlight was firmly on Dowman as he became the second 15-year-old to represent Arsenal in the Premier League when he made his debut as a substitute in Saturday’s 5-0 win over Leeds.

Attacking midfielder Dowman was cheered loudly by fans at the Emirates Stadium when he replaced Noni Madueke in the 64th minute, with Arsenal leading 4-0.

He later played a key role in Arsenal’s fifth goal by winning a penalty kick in added time, drawing a foul out of Anton Stach.

Dowman, aged 15 years and 229 days, is now the second youngest Arsenal player in Premier League history.

Ethan Nwaneri was aged just 15 years and 181 days when he made his top-flight Gunners bow back in September 2022.