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Mikel Arteta's furious message to Max Dowman has been revealed by a lipreader following his red card during Arsenal's defeat to Fleetwood in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night. The teenage wonderkid largely matched up well against the League Two side, having been chosen to start for the fixture at Highbury.
But with just four minutes remaining, and with the match locked at 1-1, Dowman received his marching orders after lashing out at Harrison Neal.
The attacking midfielder's leg became caught by the Fleetwood defender, as Neal dived in and hooked the ball over the touchline for a throw-in.
This prompted Dowman to jab Neal with his leg, and a melee swiftly erupted between players from both teams in the wake of the incident.
Michael Salisbury wasted no time in brandishing his red card following the altercation, leaving Arsenal a man short for the final moments of the match while Dowman headed towards the tunnel.
As he passed head coach Arteta, the Spaniard was spotted shouting something at the 16-year-old.
Lipreading expert Nicola Hickling, working alongside Covers.com, has now revealed what she believes was communicated to Dowman by Arteta as he departed the pitch.
The expert suggests that Arteta told the player: "Get in the changing room, Max," apparently exasperated by his early departure.
This follows Arsenal's eventual elimination from the Carabao Cup on the evening, losing on penalties in agonising circumstances.
Aaron Loupalo-Bi broke the deadlock for the hosts 21 minutes into the contest, the Fulham loanee evading Marli Salmon before firing home past an advancing Illan Meslier.
Viktor Gyokeres levelled proceedings five minutes into the second half, connecting with Ceadach O'Neill's delivery from the left to finish past Jay Lynch.
With both teams remaining deadlocked at full-time, a nerve-wracking penalty shootout followed to determine who would reach the quarter-finals.
With Ronan Coughlan, Neal, Will Davies and Andy Cannon all scoring from 12 yards, Arsenal required composure and control to progress to the subsequent stage.
Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Gyokeres fulfilled their responsibilities, but Bruno Guimaraes saw his effort saved.
Conor Haughey then converted as Fleetwood won 5-3 on penalties, sending Arsenal crashing out of the tournament in stunning fashion.
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