Few English players have lived through the spotlight quite as young, or quite as intensely, as the boy who left Notts County for Arsenal in a deal that made headlines before he had even finished school.
So when Football Presse asked Pennant about two of English football’s brightest teenage talents — Max Dowman and Rio Ngumoha — there was perhaps nobody better placed to explain what it feels like when expectation arrives before adulthood.
“I can relate to the noise that surrounds them both,” Pennant told Football Presse, on behalf of BetBrain. “The pressures that they must be feeling every time they step onto a football pitch, with all eyes on them and people expecting something special because of how they’ve been hyped up.
“Not only ex-players, but pundits, people online, all the stuff that they’re getting at the moment. So yeah, I definitely understand the whirlwind that they’ll be in right now.”
Pennant knows that whirlwind better than most.
Back in 1999, Arsenal paid a then-record fee for a trainee to sign him from Notts County. In an era before academy stars were marketed globally at 15 or 16, Pennant was already being framed as the next major English attacking talent. Quick, fearless and direct, he looked built for the modern game before the modern game had fully arrived.
But as Pennant freely admits now, talent and timing do not always move together.
He would spend years waiting for his opportunity in North London, often caught between being labelled the future and not being trusted with the present. Looking back, he believes frustration became his biggest enemy — and it is exactly why his advice to Dowman and Ngumoha is so clear.
“If my phone rang now and it was Rio or Max, I’d say: guys, you’ve got the world at your feet. Just do not get frustrated at the lack of game time,” Pennant said.
“That’s one thing I did. I got frustrated that I wasn’t playing. Then I lost focus, lost my way, and my attitude started to play a part because I just wanted to play.
“You’ve got a lot of growing up to do. You’ve got a lot of time to adapt, get stronger, and your chance will come on a regular basis. So be professional, keep working hard, and it’s only a matter of time.”
It is advice rooted in experience rather than theory.
Pennant would eventually carve out an impressive career, playing for Arsenal, Birmingham City, Liverpool, Real Zaragoza and Stoke City among others. His career brought Champions League football, major trophies and some unforgettable performances. But there remains a sense that his early Arsenal years taught him lessons he wishes he had understood sooner.
“Yeah, I would have not got so frustrated,” he reflected.
“I would have just known your time is going to come sooner or later. I think that’s what led me astray.
“I got my head down, I was sulking, miserable. My attitude probably changed because I knew I was good enough to get some minutes.
“If I’d just stayed on track, it would have come eventually.”
That perspective matters when discussing Dowman and Ngumoha, because both are already making headlines that go beyond normal academy progression.
Dowman, still only 16, has become one of the most exciting products of Arsenal’s Hale End system. In March, he became the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history after scoring against Everton, another milestone in a youth career already full of broken records. He has also progressed rapidly through England’s youth setup and, by May 2026, had already made senior appearances across multiple competitions for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Ngumoha’s rise at Liverpool has been just as explosive.
After leaving Chelsea for Anfield in 2024, the winger quickly forced his way into first-team thinking under Arne Slot. By April 2026, Ngumoha had made club history again by becoming Liverpool’s youngest Premier League scorer at Anfield, adding to a campaign that also saw him become the club’s youngest-ever player in European competition.
Pennant sees elite-level potential in both.
“I think both are fantastic talents,” he told Football Presse.
“But Rio probably needs a little bit more recognition than he gets. Max gets a lot of noise, but when you look at Rio’s stats, his output, the goals, the assists… he’s been outstanding as well.
“England have got two real starlets on their hands.”
And in Pennant’s eyes, their positions suit them perfectly.
“The agility, the pace, the sharpness — that’s what you need out wide now. Players that can skip past defenders, come inside on their stronger foot.
“I think both are in the perfect positions. Especially Rio.”
But if England fans are already dreaming of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Pennant is urging patience.
“No,” he said when asked if either teenager should be in the squad just yet.
“It’s not about whether they’re good enough. It’s about minutes.
“If you’re not starting regularly for your club, how are you going to start for England?
“Until they’re playing week in, week out in the Premier League, I think it would be silly.”
Coming from a former whizkid who has lived every high and every misstep, it might be the most valuable advice either of them could hear.