Credit: Imago

Richie Mills

Sun 8 March 2026 18:10, UK

Luca Williams-Barnett has risked upsetting Tottenham Hotspur fans after showing his support for Arsenal’s rising star Max Dowman.

Williams-Barnett has been at Tottenham since signing from Luton Town in 2018, and since then, he has become something of a record-breaker.

Last September, he made his senior debut off the bench against Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup to become Tottenham’s youngest-ever player in the competition at 16 years, 11 months, and 24 days.

The following month, the midfielder, who can also play as a forward, signed his first professional contract with Spurs, but he is still waiting for his next first-team appearance.

Although his loyalties appear to lie with Tottenham, the fact that he has praised Arsenal’s Dowman on social media at a time when Igor Tudor’s team are fighting to stay in the Premier League may not go down well.

Contrasting fortunes between Arsenal and Tottenham

While Arsenal are top of the Premier League, are into the Carabao Cup final, topped the Champions League group phase table, and advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals, Tottenham are on the brink.

They sit one point above the relegation zone, haven’t won in the league since 28 December, and calls are mounting for Tudor to be sacked after just three games in charge.

On the other side of north London, meanwhile, Arsenal teenager Dowman impressed in his side’s 2-1 win at Mansfield Town in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday.

After the 16-year-old posted a series of photos of himself after the game against the League One side, Williams-Barnett was one of many to comment on the Instagram post.

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A post shared by MD (@maxdowman)

The youngster reacted with a love heart and a fire emoji, prompting one Tottenham fan to question his actions.

In Williams-Barnett’s defence, he has known Dowman for some time, with the pair playing together at England Under-17 level. The Tottenham starlet is now playing for the under-18s, with Dowman a level up at the under-19s.

Regardless, the timing of the post may not be the best.

Tottenham’s bad blood with Arsenal continues

Days after Arsenal thumped Tottenham 4-1 in Tudor’s first game in charge as interim boss, more bad PR came out of the club.

Spurs academy scout Neros Coachman appeared to make several controversial comments on social media after announcing he had joined the Lilywhites in a new role.

After admitting, “You know the project is good when you’re a boyhood Arsenal fan, and you switch sides,” Coachman put his foot in it, so to speak.

One commenter posted, “Do not let that badge touch your skin, to which he replied, “I’ve already got the base layer.”

The Daily Mail have since reported that Tottenham officials are “deeply unimpressed” with their new, Arsenal-supporting academy scout and are considering taking action against him.

Some Tottenham fans on social media labelled Coachman’s posts as disrespectful and strange. This, and more, highlights how badly things are going for Spurs right now.