Max Dowman will serve the second game of his three-match ban when Arsenal face Arsenal vs Hull City, while Mikel Arteta goes into the same game one booking away from a touchline suspension. Arteta has been booked twice in nine Premier League matches, with the first yellow coming against Sunderland in September. Another booking at Emirates Stadium would move him onto three and rule him out against Newcastle on November 21.

Dowman's ban stays in place

The FA panel could not agree on overturning Max Dowman's red card, so the suspension stands. The majority view was that his attempted retaliation fell into violent conduct and the decision was not obviously wrong, while a minority member argued the referee had made an obvious error and that the challenge was better seen as aggressive attitude rather than violent conduct.

Dowman was sent off in Arsenal's Carabao Cup tie against Fleetwood Town after reacting to a strong challenge from Harrison Neal. His second game of the ban comes against Hull on Saturday, which keeps him sidelined for a fixture Arsenal are expected to handle without much trouble but still cannot treat casually.

Arteta's disciplinary warning

Arteta's own situation is less about the appeal process and more about discipline on the touchline. He has already reached two bookings in nine league games, and the threshold for a managerial suspension is three yellow cards.

He also joked about the scrutiny around touchline behaviour, saying: "I'm going to put sensors there. There are managers that have the record in the league, 36 times in 10 minutes leaving the touchline, no yellows." The comment was very clearly a dig at how unevenly those situations are sometimes judged, but the practical point is the one Arsenal care about now: one more booking and he misses Newcastle.

Arsenal remain top of the Premier League after eight wins from nine, so the football side of the week is in good shape. The disciplinary side is not quite as tidy, with Dowman still banned and Arteta needing to keep his hands off the edge of the technical area on Saturday.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →