Arsenal will appeal the red card that was shown to Max Dowman during the second half of Tuesday night's defeat to Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup fourth round, football.london understands. The 16-year-old was given his marching orders for violent conduct, meaning he must serve a three-match ban across domestic competitions.

Under the nose of the linesman, Dowman reacted angrily to a meaty tackle and lunged at Harrison Neal with his leg. Although the teenager did not fully kick out, he pushed his thigh into the opposition midfielder's side, giving Michael Salisbury a decision to make.

Once the dust had settled at Highbury Stadium, Dowman was sent for an early bath. As he left the pitch and headed down the tunnel, Mikel Arteta gave the Hale End prospect a scathing look and then said something before sending him on his way.

As it stands, subject to appeal, Dowman will be suspended for three Premier League games: Liverpool (A) on Sunday, November 1, Hull City (H) on Saturday, November 7, and Newcastle United (A) on Saturday, November 21.

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The games against Andoni Iraola's side and the newly-promoted outfit will be sandwiched by a trip to Prague in the UEFA Champions League, which, of course, Dowman will be eligible to play in, as red cards do not carry over from domestic competitions into European competitions.

The Gunners need to submit the relevant documents to the Football Association by 1pm on Thursday to initiate the appeal process. The English governing body define violent conduct as: "A player uses or attempts to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball."

It's understood that higher-ups at the Emirates Stadium want the case resolved ahead of Sunday afternoon's match against Liverpool. Shortly after Arsenal were knocked out of the Carabao Cup on penalties, Arteta was quizzed on the red card.

"I haven’t seen it back, and with the camera you can’t really see what happens," said the Spaniard. "The decision was made by the referee, and that’s it. Even with 10 men, we had three big chances to score."

Dowman has now been sent off twice this month, having done so while representing the England Under-19s in the last international break. When asked whether the youngster was targeted, Arteta said: "We know when we prepare the context of the match, we’re very clear on what to expect. Emotionally, we have to dominate, but we’re very clear."

On what he said to Dowman as he trundled off the pitch, the Gunners boss said: "It’s something that we discussed before the game."

And, speaking generally about the result, Arteta said: "First of all, congratulations to Fleetwood. In the manner they did it, the atmosphere they created.

"I have nothing to fault the players for their attitude and intensity throughout the game, with 11 and with 10, but when you are playing in that superior way, you have to give nothing to the opponent.

"When we create the volume of shots and chances we did, you have to score three, four or five. You capitalise on it. If you don’t, there are no margins, and that’s the reality.

"Then you have to wait and get through the round on penalties, and we didn’t do that. The probability was low with the way the game was panning out, but it’s football and still with low probability, there is always a chance you could be out of the cup."