Arsenal lost their last Carabao Cup game against League Two team Fleetwood Town in a match that ended in penalties. The defeat was not the only reason for coach Mikel Arteta's frustration, as young midfielder MaxDowNay, who had been one of the protagonists of the match, was sent off in the 84th minute after an unnecessary kick that left the team outnumbered during the final minutes.
DowNay, who had been showing outstanding technical performance and had contributed several dangerous passes, found himself involved in a situation of anger after being fouled by HarrisonNeal. The player's reaction, a kick that led to the red card, provoked a strong verbal reprimand from Arteta, who headed crestfallen to the locker room. The coach explained in an interview with BBC Radio 5Live that the decision to send him off was based on “something we had already talked about before the game” and that he would prefer to analyze the foul before discussing the incident.
The expulsion from Arsenal is not the first that DowNay has suffered in such a short time. The same player received a red card on Tuesday the 27th, when Arsenal faced Fleetwood. The second expulsion occurred in the England U-19 team's match against the United States, where the young man was sent off in the 74th minute after a reckless tackle that included “a small kick while an opponent was passing,” according to the Mail on Sunday. In that game, DowNay had played 13 games without receiving more than one yellow card, and his disciplinary record with the Arsenal first team had been impeccable, without having received a single card.
The double incident has generated concern among club officials, who fear that the player is beginning to become the target of provocations and react disproportionately to rival fouls. Arteta, for his part, has expressed the need to work with DowNay to control his temperament and prevent the player's discipline from being compromised in the future.
With the Premier League season still underway, Arsenal will have to decide how to manage DowNay's future following two sending-offs in less than a month, as the club look to maintain consistency in their performance in both the league and cup competitions.