Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta warned Max Dowman he was “not in Disneyland” after the teenage rising star was sent off in the Gunners’ shock League Cup defeat by lowly Fleetwood. The Premier League champions suffered one of the most embarrassing losses in their history when, after the fourth-round tie ended 1-1 in normal time, they lost 5-3 on penalties away to fourth-tier Fleetwood on Tuesday. To make matters worse for the Gunners, Dowman saw red five minutes before the end of normal time.
Although it looked a harsh decision to send off Dowman for aiming a kick towards Harrison Neal, Arteta was unimpressed with the 16-year-old, giving him a stern word as the midfielder trudged off. Arteta’s reaction on the touchline was criticised by some pundits, who felt he should have been more sympathetic towards Dowman, who is now starting an immediate three-game ban for violent conduct after Arsenal lost an appeal against his red card and punishment. But an unrepentant Arteta defended his response to Dowman’s red card in a pre-match news conference on Friday ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Liverpool.
But you need to understand the context, the relationship that I have with him and what we discussed just before we went out [for the match]. When they have to play with 10, you want to see that? I don’t know … This is the environment, and this is the reality.
We are not in Disneyland, we are in the Premier League.” Dowman has been carefully nurtured by Arsenal since making his debut when he was just 15. It happened another time this month with England [Under-19s]. And it will continue to happen because of the way he plays and the way he attracts opponents, and that’s it.
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