Mikel Arteta made a very telling decision in the 81st minute of Brighton vs Arsenal

Mikel Arteta cut a frustrated figure on the touchline as Arsenal were beaten 3-0 by Brighton and Hove Albion.

The Gunners had been flawless until this afternoon in all competitions this season, but everything went wrong at the Amex. The Premier League champions were second-best in every department.

Arteta will have to put his hands up too, because he got a few things wrong. But one of his decisions in the second half spoke a thousand words.

Mikel Arteta’s Max Dowman decision vs Brighton was telling

There were calls for Max Dowman to start the game against Brighton after his brilliant brace against Ipswich Town midweek.

Every Arsenal fan knew that was not going to happen. The 16-year-old had to settle for a spot on the bench, and he probably expected to stay there throughout the game.

However, in the 81st minute, Arteta turned around and told Max Dowman that he was coming on to replace Bukayo Saka on the right wing, even though Noni Madueke was on the bench.

The former Chelsea man produced a good performance against Ipswich, and he has been the Arsenal manager’s go-to option to replace Saka this term.

However, Arteta decided to leave Madueke as an unused substitute and instead brought on a kid. That feels like a really telling decision.

Apart from the Carabao Cup clash at Portman Road, Madueke’s performances this season have been really poor. He just hasn’t looked good enough.

To add to that, reports this week claimed that Atletico Madrid and Juventus want to sign Madueke when the window reopens in January.

Dowman is clearly the future of Arsenal, and we have always believed that he will succeed Martin Odegaard in the number 10 role one day.

However, Arteta may have just decided to slowly promote him ahead of Madueke on the right wing because he is far more effective than the former Tottenham winger.

We won’t be surprised at all if Dowman ends up overtaking Madueke in the pecking order by the end of this season.