Mikel Arteta has revealed he reminded Max Dowman of a pre-match conversation after the Arsenal teenager was sent off in a humiliating Carabao Cup exit to League Two Fleetwood Town.
The Gunners were stunned on penalties at Highbury Stadium as Fleetwood reached the quarter-finals for the first time in their history. The Cod Army, 18th in the fourth tier, held the Premier League champions to a 1-1 draw before winning the shootout 5-3.
Fleetwood's historic upset
Goalkeeper Jay Lynch saved Bruno Guimaraes' spot-kick, and teenage centre-back Conor Haughey converted the winning penalty, sparking a mass pitch invasion. The result is one of the biggest upsets in the competition's history, with 84 places separating the two clubs in the English football pyramid.
Fleetwood took the lead after 21 minutes through Fulham loanee Aaron Loupalo-Bi, before Viktor Gyokeres equalised five minutes after half-time.
Dowman's red card
Dowman was shown a straight red card with four minutes left after kicking out in response to a challenge from Harrison Neal. Arteta was seen reprimanding the 16-year-old as he left the pitch.
Asked by BBC Radio 5 Live what he told Dowman, Arteta said: "Something that we discussed already before the match."
Speaking to Sky Sports about the red card, Arteta added: "It's difficult to see on the cameras like that. I prefer to watch it back properly and then I can assess the situation."
Arteta's reaction
On the result, Arteta said: "First of all congratulations to Fleetwood for going through to the next round in the manner they've done it and the atmosphere they've created. A really sad day for us. I cannot fault at all the attitude of the players."
He added: "We gave them almost nothing in the whole game. We created so many chances and didn't capitalise on that. Then margins become so small, that's it. This is football, that's the beauty of this competition and especially in this country. It's a very sad day."
Arsenal now look to bounce back at Anfield against Liverpool on Sunday.
