Arsenal's Max Dowman walks after being shown a red card during the League Cup, fourth round match at Highbury Stadium, Fleetwood, October 27, 2026
Bottles of electrolyte drink by Dongpeng Beverage Group featuring images of French footballer Kylian Mbappe in a supermarket in Beijing, October 27, 2026
Bottles of electrolyte drink by Dongpeng Beverage Group featuring images of French footballer Kylian Mbappe in a supermarket in Beijing, October 27, 2026
ARSENAL will appeal against Max Dowman’s red card in Tuesday night’s shock Carabao Cup defeat to League Two Fleetwood.
The 16-year-old was sent off for a kick out at Harrison Neal following a bruising tackle in the 85th minute of the match, which Arsenal lost on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Boss Mikel Arteta spoke briefly to the teenage star as he left the pitch at Highbury and the Press Association understands Arsenal plan to appeal against the sending-off, with documents needing to be submitted to the Football Association by 1pm today.
It is understood the club are hopeful a decision on Dowman’s appeal will be made before the Premier League champions return to action at Liverpool on Sunday.
Captain Martin Odegaard warned the Gunners not to dwell on their surprise cup exit.
After Bruno Guimaraes was denied from 12 yards, Fleetwood’s 19-year-old defender Conor Haughey stepped up to fire the hosts into the quarter-finals with one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s history.
Arsenal fell behind to Aaron Loupalo-Bi’s 21st-minute strike in a disjointed first-half performance after Arteta made nine changes.
Odegaard was introduced at half-time and Viktor Gyokeres quickly levelled, but Dowman was dismissed before Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch starred in the shootout to secure a memorable victory.
“It’s very frustrating to go out,” Odegaard said. “Obviously, the way we’ve played was not on the level. We need to do much, much better than we did.
“Frustrating, but congratulations to Fleetwood and we look forward to the next game already and bounce back.
“They did well so we have to give them credit, but I think [it] was about us not being on our level, we need to do better. I thought we improved during the game, but again, we need to step up even more — so that’s a shame.”
Arsenal will be back in north-west England at the weekend for a big test against Liverpool at Anfield and will need to have this disappointment well out of their systems before then as they look to keep the pressure on at the top of the Premier League, having moved level on points with Manchester City at the weekend.
“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves,” Odegaard added. “We need to move on — we have a big game at the weekend, so bouncing back at the weekend is all we can do now.”
Meanwhile “proud and emotional” Fleetwood boss Matt Lawlor hailed his team for one of the biggest upsets the League Cup has ever seen.
Fleetwood are down in 18th place in League Two, hovering just above the drop zone, but they are now into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup after beating a side 84 places above them in the standings, last season’s Champions League finalists.
For Lawlor, who hails from just down the road in Poulton-le-Fylde, it was a night he will never forget less than a year into his managerial career.
“I was trying to not cry and I didn’t,” the 38-year-old said. “I’ve managed to hold it. My family, my little boy here, we’re all local.
“I was turning around and people were screaming at me in the crowd and people that I knew and grew up with, that I went to school with or they’ve got a loose connection and people that jumped out on to the pitch and people that knew me.
“Obviously that’s really special and really emotional. To do something that special early in my career as well.”
The 95th Anniversary Appeal
The 95th Anniversary Appeal