Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says 16-year-old Max Dowman must be held to the same standards as every other first-team player after his dismissal against Fleetwood Town.
Dowman was shown a red card in the 85th minute of Arsenal’s Carabao Cup penalty shoot-out defeat by Fleetwood Town on Tuesday. The teenager reacted to a heavy challenge from Harrison Neal and will now serve a three-match ban.
Arteta, who appeared visibly angry as Dowman left the pitch, had warned the forward before the match about how to respond to provocation. Speaking about the incident for the first time on Friday, the Arsenal manager said his reaction needed to be understood in the context of their relationship.
“I haven’t seen the reaction to my reaction, whether it is positive or negative. But you need to understand the context and the relationship that I have with him and what we discussed just before we went out,” Arteta said.
“But, I don’t know. You can have another reaction. If you see the reaction of my father and my mother with me some days you might say ‘I don’t like the reaction’. For me, it was the best reaction to be who I am.”
Arteta confirmed he had spoken to Dowman on Thursday and said there were “no issues at all” between them. However, he stressed that he needed to be “very straight” with the young player about what Arsenal expect.
Dowman was also sent off while playing for England U19s earlier this month, when he was subjected to heavy challenges during a match against the United States.
Discussing that incident, Arteta said: “They are his age. They are 16 – the same. What is the reaction? That is the level and that is the reaction.
“And whether it is right or wrong, that is the reaction.”
The Arsenal manager said Dowman’s dismissal had affected the team and insisted players must be prepared for the intensity of Premier League football.
“And the reaction when I don’t win, you want to know what my reaction is? I am [angry] big time,” he said.
“So, we need to be ready for that. This is the environment and this is the reality, otherwise we are in Disneyland. We are not in Disneyland, we are in the Premier League and this level.
“We look after him so much that you cannot imagine.
“But at the same time we are going to demand from him, like everybody else, because he needs to earn the right to play. Because the other boys, what are they going to tell me? You need to be fair.”
Arsenal appealed against the red card, but the Football Association (FA) upheld the decision. Arteta said he was “very disappointed” and added: “We are lucky today that he (Dowman) hasn’t had a broken foot.”
