Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour has said 16-year-old Max Dowman's sending-off against Fleetwood Town is all part of a "rollercoaster" career and backed manager Mikel Arteta to know how to deal with it.

Dowman was shown a straight red card in the 85th minute of Tuesday's shock Carabao Cup defeat after reacting to a heavy tackle from Harrison Neal, with Arteta giving the winger some angry words on his way down the tunnel.

The Gunners have subsequently appealed against the dismissal.

"I thought Dowman was a little bit unlucky," said Parlour, who made more than 450 appearances for Arsenal and was part of the 2003-04 Invincibles squad. "After the game, he'd be sitting on the coach going to the airport disappointed.

"But he's got to get back into training, train hard and wait for his opportunity again.

"He'll learn from it. Being a footballer is like a rollercoaster ride, with highs and lows - and that's one of his lows."

Dowman is the youngest scorer in Premier League history and is a permanent fixture in Arsenal's first-team squad.

Asked whether Arteta's public reaction on the touchline was something the teenager needed to go through, Parlour - who was at an event to showcase the club's partnership with Oakley Meta - replied: "He [Arteta] has got his standards.

"He'll [also] have a word behind closed doors. He'll put his arm around him and say you've got to be careful in these situations because you're going to get people trying to kick you.

"He's got to get used to that because he's going to be a talent going forward. But I'm sure he'll be fine with Mikel.

"Mikel has been a young player himself, so he probably knows how to treat the players."