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Max Dowman: Arsenal's appeal against teenager's red card in Fleetwood Town defeat rejected
Max Dowman was sent off for kicking out at Harrison Neal after a heavy tackle during Arsenal's Carabao Cup defeat to Fleetwood Town on Tuesday; 16-year-old's reaction was adjudged to be violent conduct, meaning a three-game suspension
Thursday 29 October 2026 17:33, UK
Arsenal have failed in their appeal against Max Dowman's red card in the defeat to League Two Fleetwood Town.
The Premier League champions were knocked out of the Carabao Cup on penalties in a huge shock after the teenager was dismissed for kicking out at Fleetwood's Harrison Neal.
The 16-year-old was shown a straight red card for violent conduct by referee Michael Salisbury after reacting to a heavy challenge by Neal which went unpunished.
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Dowman will now miss Arsenal's next three domestic matches against Liverpool, Hull and Newcastle following the FA's decision to uphold the ban.
In a statement an FA spokesperson said an independent comission dismissed Arsenal's claims of "wronfgul dismissal and excessive punishment".
It is a blow for Dowman, whose opportunities have been limited this season, as injuries to Noni Madueke, Christos Tzolis and Bukayo Saka were potentially set to open the door for him to feature against Liverpool.
Manager Mikel Arteta has given the teenager two appearances off the bench in the league, and one in the Champions League this season.
Dowman has started both of Arsenal's Carabao Cup matches, scoring twice against Ipswich in the third round before being sent off against Fleetwood.
Sky Sports News understands Arteta spoke to Dowman at length in the build-up to Arsenal's game against Fleetwood and told him what to expect from the League Two side.
He was told they would put in strong challenges and they would double up on him and was told repeatedly not to react.
Merson's warning for Dowman
Former Arsenal star Paul Merson has warned "superstar" Dowman that he must learn to cope with teams targeting him.
"My worry is because at Arsenal, and when you play for one of the big clubs, you get told once or twice, and that is it. Once or twice tops," said the Sky Sports pundit.
"And he's been told again. Obviously, Arteta's told him. He got sent off the other week for England against the USA. He's going to get that the whole of his career.
"The kid's a superstar already at 16 years of age. He was the one reason I was looking forward to watching the game. I was thinking, 'Please Dowman play, please Dowman play'.
"He's going to have that all the time now. He's going to be kicked. People are going to look at the game now, and they're going to go, 'Right, we've got to upset him. Try and get inside him. Try and upset him'.
"And he's got to be better than that. He got frustrated, and it's not always going to be easy. It's not always going to be a nine out of 10 every week. Sometimes he's going to have to go to the nitty-gritty and be a six or seven out of 10. Get back for the team. Might do a couple of special things in a game.
"You can't keep on being a superstar every game. Everybody has bad games. When you have bad games, you've got to make sure it doesn't affect the team as well, and you don't get sent off."
Arsenal threadbare in wide positions
Analysis by Sky Sports' Nick Wright:
Arsenal's squad depth has come to be seen as their biggest strength but in the space of a few weeks, injury and suspension have left them looking threadbare out wide.
It started with a hamstring injury to Christos Tzolis while on international duty with Greece earlier this month. Bukayo Saka's thigh injury followed against Bayern Munich and then came Noni Madueke's knock against Everton and Max Dowman's red card against Fleetwood Town.
While their squad is enviably stocked in other positions, Arsenal were already a body light on the flanks having failed in their pursuit of an A-list attacker in the summer. Arsenal were frustrated in their efforts to land Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr or Atletico's Julian Alvarez.
Although Saka is not expected back until after the international break at the earliest, Mikel Arteta will hope for positive developments on the fitness of Madueke and Tzolis before Sunday's game against Liverpool, live on Sky Sports at Anfield.
As it stands, though, his only available senior option out wide is Eberechi Eze.
Arteta may have no choice but to throw in a youngster such as Ceadach O'Neill, who had bright moments against Fleetwood but has never played at Premier League level.
Otherwise, he may have to get creative. Could someone else, such as the versatile Kai Havertz, play off the right? Desperate times may require desperate measures.
