Mikel Arteta, Arsenal manager, spoke publicly for the first time on Friday about the red card Max Dowman received in the Carabao Cup match against Fleetwood Town. Arsenal lost that match, played on Tuesday, on penalties, and Dowman was sent off in the 85th minute following a reaction to a heavy challenge by Harrison Neal. The teenager will serve a three-match suspension.
Arteta was visibly annoyed while speaking to Dowman as he left the pitch, and on Friday revealed that the two had also spoken on Thursday. He emphasised that there were no issues between them and that he must be "very straight" and clear with Dowman regarding expected standards. "We are not in Disneyland," Arteta said, adding that this is the Premier League and a level where such things simply happen.
The manager highlighted that he had warned Dowman before the match about dealing with provocation. "If you see the reaction of my father and my mother with me some days you might say 'I don't like the reaction'," Arteta stated, adding: "For me, it was the best reaction to be who I am." He also stated that he would hold Dowman to the same standards as other first-team players because, as he said, he must be fair to the others.
Arteta also referred to Dowman's earlier dismissal this month for England U19 in a match against the United States, where he was also subjected to heavy challenges. "They are his age. They are 16 – the same," Arteta said of that situation. "What is the reaction? That is the level and that is the reaction. And whether it is right or wrong, that is the reaction."
Arsenal appealed the red card, but the Football Association (FA) upheld the decision. Arteta said he was "very disappointed" about this. He added: "we are lucky today that he hasn't had a broken foot." Regarding the impact of the red card on the team, he said: "And the reaction when I don't win, you want to know what my reaction is? I am [angry] big time. So, we need to be ready for that." He concluded that this is the environment and reality in which the club operates, adding a message that they will care for Dowman more than can be imagined, but will demand the same from him as from everyone else because he must earn his right to play.
