Fabregas held that record himself, having made his debut aged 16 years and 177 days in 2003, before going on to make 303 appearances across eight years in north London and returning to Barcelona, the club where he had played as a child.
Speaking after his current side's pre-season draw, in which Dowman and fellow academy graduate Marli Salmon both impressed, the Como head coach reflected on what had shaped his own rise at Arsenal.
"Of course it helped [having Vieira, Bergkamp and Pires in the squad when he joined]," he said. "I always say that I was so lucky, because I wasn't alone. Philippe Senderos was 18 years old, Gaël Clichy Seb Larsson, Johan Djourou, I was one of the three or four young players in the squad, but the rest, you can remember who they were, you know?
"They were proper, proper champions, and I was so lucky because of how they pushed me, how they educated me, and how they treated me, I will never forget that."
Asked for his verdict on Dowman and Salmon specifically, Fabregas was full of praise for the pathway that produced them.
"It's amazing. It's amazing because that's what it's all about," he said. "Hale End does an amazing job. There is a lot of talent, but if you don't play this talent, if you don't give trust to this talent, it gets lost in the process and it's a big shame."
He was keen to stress that the road ahead would not be straightforward.
"I had the chance to say well done to them, but keep going," Fabregas said. "Keep going, keep pushing yourself, because it's a big and long career, full of ups and downs, because they need to accept that not everything will be easy. They need to compete.
"They play for one of the best clubs and teams in the world now, where even Max with the talent that he's got, it's a challenge. It's not easy to play at Arsenal because you're challenging, you're playing in your position against some of the best players in the world. So, it's really good, really good."
Dowman scored Arsenal's goal of the season during a debut campaign that brought six Premier League appearances as a 16-year-old, but faces stiff competition for minutes with Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke both ahead of him on the right.
A loan move, even to a Champions League side managed by an admirer like Fabregas, looks unlikely, with Mikel Arteta keen to keep developing the teenager within his own first-team fold. Fabregas signed off with a smile all the same: "And if they want to give us some players as well… we can take them."