Dowman sees red as Arsenal dumped out, but did Arteta go too far?

Max Dowman has been getting used to making headlines for moments of magic, but the 16-year-old was in the spotlight for the wrong reasons when he was sent off as Arsenal suffered a shock loss to Fleetwood Town.

Dowman scored twice as Arsenal beat Ipswich in the previous round of the Carabao Cup and manager Mikel Arteta rewarded him with another start in the Gunners' last-16 tie.

And this one was perhaps more of an opportunity than it looked. Arsenal are light on wing options with Bukayo Saka, Christos Tzolis and Noni Madueke injured, so it was a chance to stake a claim.

But Dowman's red card in the 85th minute marred his night.

And after being held by Fleetwood during normal time where the Gunners went behind despite having 26 shots and 78% possession, the Premier League champions lost on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time.

Arteta gave his star youngster a scathing look as Dowman left the pitch and angrily said something to the winger as he went down the tunnel, revealing after the game that it was "something that we discussed already before the match".

The young winger reacted to a heavy challenge by Harrison Neal and, although he did not fully kick out, he made a movement towards Neal with his leg that gave referee Michael Salisbury a decision to make.

It goes down as Dowman's second red card this month after he was also sent off while representing England Under-19s in the last international break.

"You have to remember he is 16 years of age - he's a kid," former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson said on Sky Sports.

"He wasn't having the greatest of nights so he's going to get frustrated. He gets the chance every now and then to play for Arsenal.

"He probably feels he should be playing more. He gets the chance tonight, isn't doing too great. It's an old-fashioned tackle.

"If that's Viktor Gyokeres, he [Arteta] isn't doing that. That's what I don't like. If it's an experienced international, I don't think he does that. He's a human being.

"He's not the last person to get sent off for Arsenal and he's not the first."

This was just Dowman's second start of the season - and the Arsenal players had been briefed about their task.

"When we prepared the context of the match, we were very clear on the things to respect, the things that emotionally we have to dominate. It was very clear," Arteta said following the game.

Dowman is one of the best young players in Europe and tough treatment from defenders is something Arteta has previously said he will have to get used to.

"For me, I'd put my arm round him. It's still 1-1 and you are in the game," Merson said on Sky Sports, looking at Arteta's reaction.

"We all say things in life when you think 'I shouldn't have said that'. For me that's a classic moment where if he [Arteta] could have that back, he'd do it different."

Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman also believes that it was a lack of experience that played into Dowman's red.

"It was on the far side of the pitch, but from what we saw [Dowman] can't have any complaints." Osman said on BBC 5 Live.

"Yes, there were a lot of challenges flying in thick and fast from both teams, and then there was that moment when a huge challenge came in on him, but as I mentioned earlier they happen so often.

"And you have to know as a good player, people are going to try to kick you at times, and that's what happened.

"It was a poor reaction from him and you hope he learns and he learns quickly."

The surprising loss to Fleetwood, a team 84 places below Arsenal in the football pyramid, was made even worse by the fact that the Gunners' under-21 team had beaten AFC Wimbledon, a side in a division higher than the hosts, on the same night in the EFL Trophy.

The first incident of the match came with under two minutes on the clock when the game was stopped for more than eight minutes when a drone was flown above the pitch.

Perhaps Arsenal should have taken that as a warning this was to be an unusual night.

Arteta named an experimental side and gave a debut to 18-year-old forward Ceadach O'Neill, started 17-year-old Marli Salmon at centre back, 16-year-old Dowman on the wing while goalkeeper Illan Meslier was making his first start for the club too.

But the Gunners boss surrounded that inexperience with seasoned internationals such as Jurrien Timber, Piero Hincapie, World Cup winner Martin Zubimendi, Champions League winner Kai Havertz and Gyokeres.

All of those players played a huge part in the Gunners winning the Premier League title last season.

However, even after introducing captain Martin Odegaard and £75m signing Bruno Guimaraes from the bench, Arsenal produced a poor performance.

"First of all, congratulations to Fleetwood for going through the next round. The manner that they have done it, and for us a very sad day," Arteta said of the result.

"There is nothing to criticise the players for their attitude, their application. The determination - you could see that was there from the start.

"Even with 10 men, we conceded a really poor goal to start with that gave them some momentum."

Arsenal have not won the League Cup for 33 years.

In 2012, they lost to League Two side Bradford City on penalties and they were also beaten by Championship side Sheffield Wednesday in 2015.

With Dowman now suspended, Saka out for around six weeks, Tzolis working to return and Arteta revealing after the match that Madueke was unavailable with an injury, their options in wide areas for the match with Liverpool on Sunday are looking highly limited.