The FA have upheld Max Dowman’s three-match ban after the teenager was sent off in Arsenal’s shock Carabao Cup exit to Fleetwood Town.

Arsenal appealed the red card after Dowman was sent off in the 86th minute of Tuesday’s defeat for kicking out in retaliation to a scissor challenge by Harrison Neal, who was shown a yellow card.

But the 16-year-old will now miss Arsenal’s Premier League matches against Liverpool, Hull City and Newcastle after the FA stuck with the on-field decision one day after the Premier League champions lodged their appeal.

As the teenager left the field, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta gave him a scathing look and uttered a few words to the young attacker, understood to be: ‘Get to the changing room, Max’.

Dowman has turned out four times this season and his suspension comes as a blow after injuries to Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke.

His dismissal split opinion with Arsenal legend Paul Merson among those who jumped to his defence on the Sky Sports broadcast on Tuesday evening.

Fellow Arsenal legend Ray Parlour however, has urged Dowman to learn from his mistakes following his midweek dismissal. 

It was Dowman's second red card this month, having also been sent off while representing England's Under 19s.

And Parlour - part of the Invincibles side which went unbeaten in winning the Premier League in 2004 - said: ‘Well, I thought he (Dowman) was a little bit unlucky, if I'm being honest. He was tangled with the legs, but he's a young man, he's going to make mistakes.

‘He's got to learn from it, that's all. I'm sure Mikel pulled him to the side. He's 16 years old remember, he's still a kid. He's trying to set all sorts of records at the moment, and then he's got sent off as a 16-year-old.’

On whether he thought Neal’s tackle was dangerous, he said: ‘Well it's a challenge that happened all the time in my era, but obviously the rules have changed.

‘He’s gone for the ball but it’s a bit reckless. I thought Max was a little bit unlucky in what the scenario was, legs all tangled up in this way, but he reacted a little bit.

‘Usually, a referee just says, “OK, maybe a yellow card maximum” and that's it, done.’

Speaking at the premiere of the film ‘We Go Again’, the former midfielder also tipped Arteta to build a dynasty at Arsenal in a similar vein to Pep Guardiola's trophy-laden tenure at Manchester City.

‘Absolutely, he's got a great opportunity now to really, really dominate like Man City have done under Pep (Guardiola),’ he said.

‘He's got a great young squad of players. Everybody's going in the right direction, everybody knows they have to set their standards and he’s a very demanding manager which you've got to be with an elite team.

‘He’s done a brilliant job and people have given him time. Obviously, everybody's backed him including the owners.

‘We see with other managers, they come and go at clubs. Once you've got a good manager, you've got to try and stick with him. It’s great news that Mikel has signed a new contract, and obviously, players now will be signing new contracts as well. Hopefully they can stick together.’

READ MORE: Mikel Arteta taught Max Dowman an important lesson with his reaction to Fleetwood red card - forget the woke punditry gone mad, one day Arsenal wonderkid will look back and thank his manager 

Parlour was speaking at the launch of Oakley Meta’s new film ‘We Go Again’ to highlight their partnership with Arsenal.