Max Dowman will miss three matches. Arsenal's appeal against the 16-year-old's red card at Fleetwood has been thrown out, and the club now has to plan for a trip to Anfield without a teenager who was supposed to be part of the answer to their winger problem.
What happened at Highbury
The incident came in the 85th minute of Tuesday's Carabao Cup tie. Dowman reacted to a heavy challenge from Fleetwood's Harrison Neal, and although he did not fully kick out, his foot made contact. The referee showed a straight red. League Two Fleetwood, who had held the Premier League champions to 1-1, then won the shootout 5-3.
The rules are strict on this. Violent conduct covers a player who uses or tries to use excessive force against an opponent when not challenging for the ball, and the laws say it applies whether or not contact is made. Arsenal argued the case on Wednesday. The panel was not persuaded, and the three-match ban stands. For a boy of 16 it is also his second red card this month, after he was sent off while playing for England's Under-19s.
Arteta's reaction and the context
The look on Mikel Arteta's face as Dowman walked off said plenty, and the manager's post-match comments were pointed. He spoke of the things the team had agreed to respect and the emotional ground they had to dominate, and it was clear he felt the plan had been broken. Whether that was fair on a teenager making only his second start of the season is a different question, and it divided opinion on the night.
What nobody disputes is the timing. Arsenal were already thin on the flanks. Bukayo Saka, Christos Tzolis and Noni Madueke are all injured, which is why Dowman was in the side at all. Take him out and the manager has even fewer natural wide options at a moment when the schedule is getting heavier.
What it means for the Liverpool game
Dowman will not be available for the trip to Liverpool on Sunday, and the ban will take in two further games after that. Arsenal sit second in the table on 21 points, level with Manchester City, with a goal difference that is three worse. A defeat at Anfield, against a Liverpool side on a five-match winning run, would hand the initiative to their rivals.
Arteta will have to find width from somewhere, whether that means pushing a midfielder wider, trusting another young player or changing the shape altogether. It is the kind of selection puzzle he could do without, and the suspension means it will last for a few weeks rather than a single weekend. Dowman, for his part, has a lesson to take away. A talent this precocious will get more chances, but not if he keeps leaving the referee with an easy decision.
Disciplinary context: Max Dowman, Arsenal, aged 16, was sent off in the 85th minute of the Carabao Cup fourth-round tie at Fleetwood Town, which finished 1-1 before Fleetwood won 5-3 on penalties. Three-match ban upheld after appeal. Arsenal next play Liverpool on Sunday 1 November at 16:30 GMT.
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