Mikel Arteta refused to criticise Max Dowman for his red card during Arsenal’s shock Carabao Cup exit. The Gunners suffered one of the most humiliating nights in their history as they succumbed to a penalty shootout defeat to League Two Fleetwood Town. Fans stormed the pitch at Highbury Stadium as Fleetwood produced one of the all-time shocks in the League Cup’s historyShutterstock EditorialArsenal haven’t won the competition since 1993GettyBruno Guimaraes’ spot-kick was saved by Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch, allowing Conor Haughey to fire in the decisive penalty to seal a famous result for the Cod Army. Fleetwood took the lead when Aaron Loupalo-Bi rolled young Arsenal defender Marli Salmon before slotting past Illan Meslier. The Premier League champions responded through Viktor Gyokeres’ scrappy finish early in the second half and controlled possession throughout but were unable to find a winner. Arsenal’s task at getting over the line when Max Dowman was sent off for a kick out after a crunching challenge on him by Harrison Neal. After trudging off the pitch, Arteta made a comment to the 16-year-old, who then made his way down the tunnel to digest his disappointment. Arteta was also seen staring at his player intensely as he went for the tunnel.The Arsenal boss didn’t give any indication about what he said to Dowman during that exchange and also didn’t point the finger of blame at him. Arteta tight lipped on Dowman“First of all, congratulations to Fleetwood for going through in the next round in the manner that they’ve done it, the atmosphere they’ve created” Arteta told Sky Sports. “A very sad day for us. I cannot fault the attitude of the players, I haven’t seen anyone not do what is required at this level.“We had so much of the ball, so many chances, so many shots and if you want the margins to be bigger then you need to capitalise and we didn’t. Football is about that.”Dowman was dismissed after a petulant kick out during a confrontationGettyIt seems unlikely Arteta was saying ‘unlucky mate’ after Dowman was red cardedGettyView Tweet: https://t.co/CnKa22mIvp“It’s difficult to see on the cameras like that, I prefer to watch it back properly so I can assess the situation,” Arteta said of the incident leading to Dowman’s red. “We will learn from everything, yeah,” Arteta said when asked if Dowman will learn from his indiscretions. This is a developing story and is being updated.For the latest updates, breaking news alerts, and comprehensive analysis, refresh this page or follow our real-time news coverage by watching and listening to talkSPORT live.For broader context, explore related coverage on our homepage for the top trending stories. For the latest talkSPORT videos, download the app.talkSPORT cares about getting it right, not just getting it first and because this is a developing situation, details will change. We will be updating this page constantly with verified info, expert takes, and official statements.Stay tuned for further developments as this story continues to break.