Lip reader reveals Arteta's words to Dowman after red card sinks Arsenal at Fleetwood

Arsenal were dumped out of the Carabao Cup on penalties by League Two side Fleetwood Town on Tuesday, a defeat made worse by the sending off of teenage debutant Max Dowman, who was reportedly told by manager Mikel Arteta to “get in the changing room, Max” as he trudged off the pitch.

Dowman, 16, had impressed after being named in the starting line-up at Highbury but was shown a red card by referee Michael Salisbury with just four minutes remaining and the match level at 1-1. The incident was sparked when Fleetwood midfielder Harrison Neal dived in with a strong challenge, knocking the ball out for a throw-in. Dowman reacted by kicking out at Neal, triggering a fracas between players from both sides before Salisbury produced the red card without hesitation.

As the teenager walked past Arteta towards the tunnel, the Arsenal manager was visibly speaking to him. Lip-reading specialist Nicola Hickling interpreted Arteta’s words as: “Get in the changing room, Max.”

The dismissal left Arsenal with 10 men for the closing stages, and they were unable to find a winner. Aaron Loupalo-Bi had given Fleetwood the lead after 21 minutes, the Fulham loanee shrugging off Marli Salmon before slotting past Illan Meslier. Viktor Gyokeres equalised five minutes into the second half, converting Ceadach O’Neill’s cross from the left with a scrappy finish past Jay Lynch.

With the tie still level at full time, a penalty shootout was needed. Ronan Coughlan, Neal, Will Davies and Andy Cannon all converted for Fleetwood, while Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Gyokeres scored for Arsenal. The tie turned when Bruno Guimaraes saw his effort saved by Lynch, who got down well to stop the Brazilian’s shot into the bottom right corner. Conor Haughey then stepped up to convert the decisive penalty, sending Fleetwood through 5-3 on spot-kicks and ending Arsenal’s involvement in the competition.