Mikel Arteta is unlikely to admit it publicly, but when he studies the replays of Max Dowman’s red card against Fleetwood Town, the Arsenal manager may feel a little sheepish. Arteta’s disdainful look towards the 16-year-old, coupled with what appeared to be a scathing comment on the touchline, was almost as disproportionate a response as the red card itself.

Yes, Dowman must learn to never react when opponents clatter him. But it is laughable to suggest he violently lashed out at Fleetwood Town’s Harrison Neal. The only real violence in this incident came from Neal, who tackled Dowman with an aggressive scissoring motion that clamped the Arsenal forward’s standing leg.

The sport is in a strange place when Dowman’s subsequent attempt to shake off Neal is deemed a more punishable offence than the tackle itself. One of those players could have been hurt, and it certainly was not Dowman. If referee Michael Salisbury had applied any common sense, both would have seen yellow cards and the game would have moved on.

As ever, the inconsistency in decision-making across matches and competitions is infuriating. Only a few days ago, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer avoided a red card against Tottenham Hotspur for an act of petulance that was far more calculated and aggressive than Dowman’s at Fleetwood.

Asked after the game about the incident, which happened on the opposite side of the field to the dugouts, Arteta said he had not yet seen it back. If he had, his anger would perhaps have been directed more at the officials than at his teenage winger.

To be clear, Arteta’s frustration with Dowman was understandable. Reading between the lines of his post-match press conference, it seems he had warned his team to not react to any provocation or aggressive tackling from the Fleetwood players. In some ways it also speaks volumes of the regard in which the Arsenal manager holds Dowman that he made no attempt to conceal his fury.

But that image of Arteta on the touchline, looking so scornfully at a 16-year-old who had just suffered the worst moment of his short professional career, was not a good one for the Arsenal manager. Arteta was arguably guilty of the exact same crime that Dowman had been sanctioned for: an excessive emotional reaction in the heat of the moment.

Dowman did receive a red card for England’s under-19 team a few weeks ago, but that was for a poorly timed tackle rather than an act of off-the-ball petulance, and there have been no suggestions that he is a teenage hot-head. Quite the opposite, in fact. Arteta has repeatedly praised his mentality and composure, saying earlier this season: “He is an unbelievable player because of the character he has and how much he loves to play at the biggest stage and handle the situation so naturally.”

These will be an uncomfortable few days for Dowman, who was the first out of the dressing room after the game, and it represents the first major hurdle he has faced since his breakthrough into the senior side. He has a strong family and support network around him, though, and will no doubt learn from this incident. One of Dowman’s chief mentors at Arsenal is Declan Rice, who will undoubtedly have an encouraging word for his team-mate when they are reunited at the club’s training ground.

Perhaps Arteta, having reflected on his own actions and studied closely what actually happened on the other side of the pitch, might belatedly join Rice in putting his arm around Dowman’s shoulder. He may realise in hindsight that this 16-year-old deserved neither the red card, nor the disdain he then received from his manager.