Mikel Arteta has hit back at criticism of his reaction to Max Dowman's red card, declaring: “We are not in Disneyland, we are in the Premier League.”

Dowman was sent off late on during Arsenal's shock Carabao Cup defeat by Fleetwood in midweek for reacting to a heavy challenge.

Arsenal appealed that decision in an attempt to overturn a three-match suspension, but were unsuccessful.

In response to that verdict, Arteta said on Friday before the trip to Liverpool: "Very disappointed, to be fair.

"Especially with the reckless tackles that he received, and then his reaction is minimal in relation to the action.

"It could have been really bad. We are lucky today that he hasn't had a broken foot. That's clear."

Arteta was furious on Tuesday night as Dowman trudged past him down the tunnel, leaning towards the 16-year-old and aiming some angry words in his direction.

It was the second red card that Dowman has received this month, having also been dismissed while on international duty with England’s Under-19s in a friendly against the United States.

Arteta revealed that he had spoken to Dowman ahead of kick-off, warning him not to react to any rough treatment from the Fleetwood players.

Pressed on what exactly his pre-match message had been to the teenager, Arteta said: "It was related to what could happen.

"Exactly what happened and not only the red, the 10 seconds before, the way he comes to receive the ball, what kind of ball that is, whether he stood or not and after that if he gets tackled, what happens next.

"Exactly that. Is that clear? Good, now we don't have to guess."

Arteta has faced some criticism for his reaction, which was out of character for a manager who is usually so protective of his players.

However, in what was a passionate response when questioned on what he had made of the analysis on his treatment of Dowman, Arteta did not back down.

He insisted that he was not the only one left angry by Dowman being sent off and that it is sometimes essential for a player to face the honest truth.

"I haven't seen the reaction to my reaction, whether it is positive or negative," Arteta said.

"But you need to understand the context, the relationship that I have with him and what we discussed just before we went out.

"If you see the reaction of my father and my mother with me, someday you will say, I don't like the reaction. For me, it was the best reaction ever to be able to be who I am. But you want to always see the best reaction and the beautiful one.

"You want to see the reaction of his team-mates? When they have to play with 10, you want to see that? What do you expect? And the England ones, they are his age, 16, the same. What is their reaction?

"That's the level and that's the reaction. And whether it is right or wrong, that's the reaction."

Arteta was also adamant that he could not treat Dowman differently to any other player in his squad, despite his age.

The teenager has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the early stages of his career but Arteta warned him that the reality sometimes has to be more brutal.

He said: "The reaction when I don't win, you know what the reaction is? I'm p****d off, big time. So we need to be ready for that.

“This is the environment and this is the reality. Otherwise, we are in Disneyland. We are not in Disneyland.

"We are in the Premier League at this level and we look after him so much that you cannot imagine. But at the same time, we're going to demand him like to anybody else because he needs to earn the right to play.

"Otherwise, the rest of the boys, what are they going to tell me? You need to be fair."