Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has responded to Max Dowman’s red card in Carabao exit to Fleetwood Town.
Dowman was dismissed for violent conduct after kicking out at Harrison Neal following the Fleetwood defender’s tackle.
As Dowman was heading to the tunnel and about to move past Arteta in the dugout, Arteta uttered something to the teenager. This act has received criticism from fans and pundits, including Paul Merson, who felt Arteta should have embraced him and not chastised him, as it seemed.
Arteta refused to reveal the exact words he said to him and claimed: “It was something that we discussed before the game.”
Asked whether Dowman has something to learn from the incident, Arteta replied: “We knew when we prepared the context of the match, we were very clear on the things to expect, the things that emotionally we have to dominate.”
When asked if he felt the dismissal was harsh, Arteta said the referee’s decision must be respected.
“I haven’t seen it with the camera. You can’t really see what happens. The decision was made by the referee and that’s it.
“And even with 10 men, we have three big chances to score the second goal.”
Arteta Admits Arsenal Were Below Par
“First of all, congratulations to Fleetwood for going through to the next round in the manner they’ve done it,” Arteta told Sky Sports.
“A really sad day for us. I cannot fault at all the attitude of the players, I haven’t seen anybody not doing what is required at this level but we had so much of the ball, had so many chances, so many shots and if you want the margins to be bigger than going to penalties, you have to capitalise on that. We didn’t and football is about that.
“It wasn’t to do with attitude otherwise I would be here fuming. I’m sad, we’re all sad.
“We have a responsibility to represent this badge in the best possible way. It was nothing to do with effort, application or determination to go and win it, but we lacked other things to create much bigger margins.
“With what we produced, it should have showed in the scoreline.”
