Max Dowman was sent-off during Arsenal’s shock Carabao Cup defeat to Fleetwood Town on Tuesday, but Mikel Arteta’s reaction is causing as much controversy as the referee’s decision.
The Premier League champions were stunned by the League Two side as the game ended 1-1 before Fleetwood won 5-3 on penalties.
The scores were level on 85 minutes when Dowman was on the wrong end of an aggressive challenge from Harrison Neal and reacted by kicking out at the Fleetwood player.
The 16-year-old was shown a straight red, which seemed a bit harsh but was also understandable, and his manager looked furious with the teenager.
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Arteta gave Dowman an angry look and said something to him as he left the field, clearly frustrated and angry that the winger had reacted to a heavy challenge.
The Arsenal manager would not reveal what he said to Dowman, but did say: ‘It was something that we discussed before the game.’
Gunners hero Paul Merson was not impressed and thought Arteta was too harsh on the youngster, unnecessarily so.
‘I’d be more interested to see what Mikel Arteta said to him when he was walking off. This didn’t look good to me at all,’ Merson said on Sky Sports.
‘If that’s [Viktor] Gyokeres, who’s an experienced international, he isn’t doing that – but he does that to a 16-year-old kid?
‘He’s not the last person to get sent off for Arsenal, nor the first. If it was me, I’d have put my arm around him. It’s still 1-1, they’re still in the game.
‘We all say things in life we wish we hadn’t and if he could have that back, he’d do it differently.’
Arteta seemed to suggest that he had warned his players of the types of tackles they were likely to face and to keep cool amid rough treatment.
‘When we prepared the context of the match, we were very clear on the things to respect, the things that emotionally we have to dominate,’ he said. ‘It was very clear.’
Defeat for Arsenal was remarkable against a team 18th in League Two, with Arteta’s men having over 78 per cent possession and producing 26 shots to Fleetwood’s three.
Aaron Loupalo-Bi gave the underdogs the lead in the first half before Viktor Gyokeres equalise on 50 minutes in front of the packed Highbury.
Fleetwood held on to take the game to penalties, where goalkeeper Jay Lynch saved Bruno Guimaraes’ effort and Conor Haughey scored the winner.