After Arsenal's appeal against the red card Max Dowman was shown at Fleetwood Town was rejected on Thursday, the club will be without him for Sunday's visit to Liverpool. The 16-year-old was sent off late in Tuesday's EFL Cup tie at Highbury Stadium for kicking out after a challenge from Harrison Neal, and the suspension for violent conduct stands at three matches. The ban also takes in the home fixture against Hull and the visit to Newcastle.

Three fixtures on the sidelines

Tuesday's game finished 1-1 before Fleetwood, of League Two, progressed on penalties, one of the bigger shocks of the season so far. Dowman's dismissal was the first of his senior career, and it followed Neal flying in on his standing leg.

Football.The wording attached to the offence, as London reported, applies to a player who "used or attempted to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball..."regardless of whether contact is made."

The appeal verdict was announced on Thursday, leaving Mikel Arteta to plan for Anfield without the teenager.

Pundits question the decision

Reaction to the sending off has been mixed, and several former players have argued the punishment was harsh. Speaking on The Rest Is Football, Alan Shearer said he felt the referee reached for the red card too quickly and picked out how Dowman responded to the tackle itself.

He put it this way: "There are a lot of players that would have gone down screaming, rolling around, getting that challenge." Shearer said that "Yet he stood up and took what he had to take," and added that the youngster should expect comparable treatment later on because of his quality, with opponents "wanting to come in and crunch him."

Gary Lineker, on the same podcast, said: "I quite admire the fact that he stayed on his feet for what was probably quite a dangerous tackle," and suggested a yellow card for each player would have been the better outcome.

Micah Richards went further, describing it as "never a red card" and rejecting the argument that Dowman should not have reacted. "It's a natural instinct, a natural reaction to react, especially when you're 16," he said.

Arteta's words and a tunnel exchange

Arteta was seen speaking firmly to Dowman as he left the pitch, and made his own view clear afterwards. "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," the Arsenal manager said. "It was very clear."

Fleetwood midfielder Adam Murphy offered a different perspective on the evening, describing the Arsenal dressing room as gracious in defeat. "They were very classy in the tunnel afterwards," he told the OffTheBall podcast, recalling that Martin Odegaard shook hands with waiting Fleetwood players and wished them luck.

Murphy ended up with Dowman's shirt and said the teenager was understandably subdued. "I don't think he was obviously too happy after getting sent off!" he added.

Wide options under scrutiny

Dowman's absence comes with Arsenal already short in wide areas. Reports differ on the extent of the problem: Football.London listed Bukayo Saka, Christos Tzolis and Noni Madueke as currently out injured, while Arsenal Insider reported that Saka is unavailable and that the club is waiting on the fitness of Madueke and Tzolis.

Either way, Arteta has limited options for Sunday's 16:30 kick-off at Anfield, where Arsenal are looking to respond to the midweek cup exit.

Photo: Arne Müseler via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, resized.