Max Dowman will serve the full three-match ban from Tuesday's Carabao Cup exit at Fleetwood Town after an independent Regulatory Commission rejected Arsenal's appeal. The commission threw out both of the club's arguments, that the red card was wrong and that three games was too much. Dowman, 16, was sent off in the 85th minute for lashing out with his foot at Harrison Neal after Neal had caught him late, and the referee judged it violent conduct. It was the first red card of his senior career.
In our view, there was little force in what Dowman did, so three games looks heavy for it. The timing makes the length hurt more, because he misses Sunday's trip to Anfield, Hull's visit to the Emirates and the game at Newcastle after the international break. Arsenal were already short out wide this week, since Bukayo Saka is out and Madueke has an injury that isn't thought serious, while Christos Tzolis is close to a return but not back yet. The ban doesn't cover Europe, so Dowman is available in Prague on Wednesday. It was in Prague on 4 November 2025 that he became the youngest player to appear in the Champions League, at 15 years and 308 days.
Arteta's angry reaction towards Dowman on the night drew scrutiny of its own. When he faces the media today he should expect questions about that moment as well as the failed appeal.
For Arsenal Women, the December WSL dates are now confirmed, with a trip to Everton at Goodison Park on Friday 11 December at 7pm.
Katie Reid won't play in any of those games. The defender had been back in full training after twelve months recovering from the ACL rupture she suffered last October, but she badly hurt her ankle in training on Tuesday. Renée Slegers said at her Thursday press conference that the injury will keep Reid out for the rest of the year at least. She called it "another setback within a setback" but insisted: "She's gonna grow from this." Losing Reid again matters more than a routine injury would, because she started last season as first-choice centre-back and earned an England call-up at 19 before her knee went. Arsenal host Aston Villa at the Emirates on Sunday after beating Spurs and Benfica for their first back-to-back wins of the season.
In the academy, David Horseman's under-21s came from behind to beat AFC Wimbledon 2-1 on Tuesday and reach the EFL Trophy knockout stages for the first time in the group-stage format, Evan Mooney's 72nd-minute equaliser setting up Emerson Nwaneri's 87th-minute winner.
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