By Fatma Younis
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has defended his reaction to 16-year-old Max Dowman’s red card in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup defeat to Fleetwood Town, criticising the teenager’s three-match ban and declaring “we are not in Disneyland.”
Red card incident
Dowman was sent off in the 85th minute after reacting to a dangerous tackle from behind by Fleetwood’s Harrison Neal. Arsenal lost the match to the League Two side.
Arteta’s response
Speaking on Friday ahead of Sunday’s match at Liverpool, Arteta said he had warned Dowman to expect heavy challenges and not to react. “We are not in Disneyland, we are in the Premier League,” Arteta said. “We look after him so much but we are also demanding as he needs to earn the right to play.”
Appeal dismissed
Arsenal failed in their bid to overturn the three-game suspension, with the Football Association rejecting claims of both wrongful dismissal and excessive punishment.
