Mikel Arteta has backed Max Dowman to cope with the physical treatment he expects the teenager to keep facing, after Arsenal failed to overturn the red card he received against Fleetwood Town in midweek.

Dowman was dismissed in Tuesday's 1-1 EFL Cup draw at Highbury Stadium, shown a straight red for reacting to a heavy challenge, and the club's appeal was unsuccessful.

Arteta's message to Dowman

According to the Evening Standard, Arteta said he was "disappointed" with the outcome of the appeal and suggested the youngster was fortunate to avoid a broken foot.

The manager stressed that he has spoken to Dowman repeatedly about keeping his composure, and he defended his own angry reaction towards the player after the dismissal.

Arteta argued that players of Dowman's type are targeted from a very early age and learn to live with it long before reaching senior football.

"Those players have experienced that since they were eight years old," Arteta said. "Everybody tries to stop those kinds of players."

He added that the teenager encounters the same treatment in training, where team-mates are equally unwilling to be beaten by him.

Suspension begins at Anfield

That rules him out of Sunday's Premier League visit to Liverpool.

Anfield record in focus

Arsenal have not won a Premier League match at Anfield since 2012, when Arteta was in the midfield, but he believes his current squad is better prepared than previous ones.

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