Arsenal’s Carabao Cup exit at Fleetwood Town was a tough night for everyone involved, but especially for some of the club’s youngest players.

Mikel Arteta handed chances to several academy graduates at Highbury, and it was a night of mixed fortunes. Ceadach O’Neill marked his debut with an assist, while 16-year-old Max Dowman was one of Arsenal’s brightest players before his late red card. Another found life against a physical League Two side much harder, and he was replaced at half-time after a difficult first 45 minutes.

Ian Wright on Marli Salmon’s night at Fleetwood

Marli Salmon started at centre-back alongside Cristhian Mosquera, making just his sixth senior appearance. The 17-year-old captained the U19s and scored against Bayern Munich only last week, but Fleetwood was a different story. Aaron Loupalo-Bi turned him far too easily for the opener, and Arteta brutally hooked him at half-time.

Ian Wright reckons that says more about youth football than it does about Salmon. “Now we’re talking about somebody who’s played a lot of football in that Under-23 Premier League,” he said on Stick to Football. “That’s not football. That’s not football.”

Gary Neville agreed. “You’re gonna get rolled in League Two if you’re sort of not physically [ready],” he said.

Wright made it clear he rates the player, though. “It’s a massive learning curve,” he added. “It’d be a massive wake-up call… because he’s a good player. But you do need to have that kind of experience of playing against that kind of player.”

Technically, Salmon is brilliant, and he is brave on the ball. You can see why the club are so excited about him. But physically, he isn’t ready for a centre-forward who wants to bully him for 90 minutes, and PL2 football won’t get him there.

That’s why Arsenal should seriously think about loaning him out in January. There have been no reports of that yet, but six months of men’s football, ideally in the Championship or League One, would do far more for him than another half-season against academy sides. It’s the same route William Saliba took at his age, and that turned out alright.

Wright also reckons Arteta would have warned his youngsters before kick-off that Fleetwood would “go for” them. Dowman fell for it, and Salmon was physically overpowered. Both will learn from it.