Arsenal wonderkid Max Dowman received a red card against Fleetwood Town – and an apparent earful from manager Mikel Arteta.
The 16-year-old was sent off after retaliating to a hefty challenge towards the end of the Carabao Cup tie, in what was widely condemned by pundits and on social media as a very harsh decision from referee Michael Salisbury.
In leaving the pitch, Dowman was approached by Arteta, who appeared to say something to the Arsenal youngster as he trudged down the tunnel.
Arsenal defeat clouded by Mikel Arteta reaction to Max Dowman
Speaking after the game, Arteta told his post-match press conference that he hadn't had a chance to rewatch the incident – but refused to blame the officiating for his side's exit from the Fourth Round of the competition.
“I haven’t seen it back, and with the camera you can’t really see what happens,” the Basque boss said.
“The decision was made by the referee, and that’s it. Even with 10 men, we had three big chances to score.”
When asked what he said to the teenager, Arteta replied, “It’s something that we discussed before the game,” but refused to go into further detail – though did say just before that “we’re very clear on what to expect” from Fleetwood and “emotionally, we have to dominate”.
“We’re not going to discuss that here and now,” he said, when asked about prior conversations with Dowman about being fouled regularly.
This is the second dismissal that the winger has had this month, after getting sent off for England's under-19s recently following a reckless challenge after being targeted.
“This didn’t look good to me at all,” former Gunner and pundit Paul Merson said on Sky Sports following the incident at Highbury.
“If that’s [Viktor] Gyokeres, who’s an experienced international, [Arteta] isn’t doing that – but he does that to a 16-year-old kid?”
The red card leaves Dowman with a likely one-game ban for the weekend's trip to Anfield, leaving Arsenal with a selection crisis at right-wing.
Bukayo Saka is facing a two-month layoff after a muscle injury picked up against Bayern Munich, with Noni Madueke left out of last night's cup trip after a knock himself.
