Mikel Arteta was reportedly telling Max Dowman to "get in the changing room" after the teenage sensation was shown a red card during Arsenal's shock Carabao Cup exit at Fleetwood Town. The 16-year-old had more than held his own against the League Two side after being named in the starting line-up for the clash at Highbury.
Red Card Incident
With only four minutes remaining, and the match locked at 1-1, Dowman was dismissed after lashing out at Harrison Neal. The attacking midfielder had been on the receiving end of a strong challenge by the Fleetwood midfielder as Neal dived in and knocked the ball out for a throw-in.
That provoked a reaction from Dowman, who swiftly kicked out at Neal, sparking a fracas between players from both teams. Referee Michael Salisbury wasted no time in brandishing his red card, leaving Arsenal with 10 men for the final moments as Dowman headed towards the tunnel.
Arteta's Words to Dowman
As he passed manager Arteta, the Spaniard was seen speaking to the youngster. Lip-reading specialist Nicola Hickling, working with Covers.com, has explained what she interprets as being communicated to Dowman as he left the pitch. The expert claims that Arteta said: "Get in the changing room, Max."
It only got worse for the Gunners as they were ultimately dumped out of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, falling to defeat on penalties.
Penalty Shootout Heartbreak
Aaron Loupalo-Bi had broken the deadlock for the hosts just 21 minutes in, with the Fulham loanee shrugging off Marli Salmon before slotting past an onrushing Illan Meslier. Viktor Gyokeres levelled matters five minutes into the second half, latching onto Ceadach O'Neill's cross from the left with a scrappy finish past Jay Lynch.
With both sides still deadlocked at full-time, a nervy penalty shootout was required to settle the fourth-round tie. With Ronan Coughlan, Neal, Will Davies and Andy Cannon all finding the net from the spot, Arsenal needed to keep their composure to progress.
Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Gyokeres all delivered, but Bruno Guimaraes saw his effort saved by Lynch, the goalkeeper getting down well to deny the Brazilian's effort into the bottom right corner. Conor Haughey then stepped up with nerves of steel to make it 5-3 on penalties, sending Arsenal crashing out of the competition.
