Morning all.
Let’s start with the news that Arsenal are set to appeal Max Dowman’s red card against Fleetwood on Tuesday evening. I think that’s probably the right thing to do, because had that gone to a VAR review, I think they’d have really struggled to make a compelling case that this was violent conduct.
Was it a small retaliation? Yes. Did it meet the threshold for violent conduct? Not for me. As laid out in the rules of the game, it is defined thus: _Violent conduct is when a player uses or attempts to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball, or against a team-mate, team official, match official, spectator or any other person, regardless of whether contact is made._
So, on that basis I think Arsenal are right to appeal. They might cite other incidents to make their case. Perhaps the fact Cole Palmer received just a yellow card in Chelsea’s last game against Sp\*rs for what was [a much more violent action against Mateus Fernandes](https://streamff.com/v/43371190). Imagine if we even used one of our own players, demonstrating how Bruno Guimaraes was allowed to forearm smash Jorginho in the side of the head, but didn’t get sent off because he didn’t use his arm like a weapon (or something).
Mikel Arteta is a man who, just last week, ‘joked’ he had a collection of images to show other managers outside their techincal area 36 times in ten minutes. If you don’t think he can’t dig up a few more examples of players getting away with violent conduct, you haven’t been paying attention. Whether it’s going to be sufficient to have the red card overturned is another thing, but at the very least we should see a reduction in what is, as it stands, a three match ban. I think the red was very, very, very harsh, but to miss three games because of that is absurd and unfair, so I think we’re right to appeal.
Once again though, there’s a conversation to be had about the punishments for red cards, and how it’s kind of ridiculous that every act of violent conduct = a three game ban. Some acts are more violent than others, some really do endanger the safety of an opponent, and yet they’re all treated the same. It’s never made sense to me, and I don’t really understand how there isn’t a disciplinary panel that assesses each sending off and applies the ban after the fact based on the seriousness of the incident.
Despite his frustration in the moment, I’m sure the manager’s view of Dowman’s behaviour might well have softened on watching the replays. In the heat of the moment part of it, I’m sure, is that we currently have Christos Tzolis and Bukayo Saka sidelined while Noni Madueke missed out on the midweek game to protect an ankle knock. So, we’re very light in the wide areas right now, and while the root cause of that might lie more at the door of the Sporting Director, he would have wanted Dowman available this weekend for the trip to Anfield.
I still think Arteta’s reaction was poor, but football is a game of opinions. I’ve seen some suggest if Max is gonna play with the big boys, he’s got to be treated as an equal. Perhaps that’s fair enough, but I’ve never seen Arteta react like that to a senior player being sent off, and we’ve had plenty of red cards during his tenure. You could argue that his age is why it’s different, that we all need to learn lessons when we’re younger in ways that differ from when we’re more grown up.
For me though, as talented as he is and as excited as we are about what he might become, it’s too easy to lose sight of the fact he is just 16, and that does make it different. It was so interesting that last week, after Bukayo Saka got injured against Bayern, there were myriad conversations about how Arteta was culpable to some extent because of how much he asked of the player since his breakthrough. And in the same breath, many of the same people were saying ‘It’s time for Dowman!’. I find it a little hard to square that circle. Do you actually care about the welfare of a young player or not?
I think Arteta has generally been rightly protective of Max. He knows that exposure at this age is something he and his staff have to consider for all kinds of reasons, and his playing time this season has been limited. In this instance though, regardless of the fact it’s just a few sharp words on the sideline, he’s made this a bigger issue than it should have been, with Dowman firmly in the spotlight, and I’ll be curious to see how he addresses it in his pre-Liverpool press conference tomorrow.
Ok, I’m gonna leave it there for this morning, but we’ll have an Arsecast for you a bit later on, so stand by for that. And for a little extra, Tim’s column this week [touches on Myles Lewis-Skelly](https://arseblog.com/2026/10/a-thousand-myles/), while over on YouTube, Lewis has a new video examining how midfield rotations were key against Everton, and how that might play out across the rest of the season. You can watch below (and please subscribe to the channel).
Until later.