Arsenal vs Fleetwood Town: Arsenal suffered a stunning Carabao Cup exit as League Two Fleetwood Town secured a memorable 5-3 penalty shootout victory after a 1-1 draw at Highbury Stadium.
Aaron Loupalo-Bi gave the hosts a shock first-half lead before Viktor Gyökeres equalised after the break. However, Max Dowman’s late red card added to Arsenal’s problems before Bruno Guimarães missed from the spot to send Fleetwood into the quarter-finals.
The result marks a remarkable achievement for Fleetwood, who sit several divisions below their Premier League opponents.
Fleetwood take shock first-half lead
The match got off to an unusual start when an unauthorised drone flew over the stadium, forcing referee Michael Salisbury to stop play. Both teams left the pitch during an interruption of around eight minutes before the match resumed.
Fleetwood capitalised on the occasion and took the lead in the 21st minute. Aaron Loupalo-Bi got past young Arsenal defender Marli Salmon before sending a low finish across debutant goalkeeper Illan Meslier and into the net.
Arsenal had a tough time trying to break down the Fleetwood backline. Max Dowman looked to get Arsenal onto the front foot, but the hosts were solid and kept the lead.
The League Two side was ahead at the break, and Arsenal had to work hard to avoid embarrassment.
Gyökeres gets Arsenal back on level terms
Mikel Arteta brought on Martin Ødegaard at the break, and the visitors began to push Arsenal on the counter. They scored an equaliser five minutes into the second half.
Gyökeres scored with a tap in to make it 1-1 to give some momentum to Arsenal, but Fleetwood defended well.
In the second half the Gunners looked like they would win the game, however Jay Lynch made a crucial save to stop Ben White scoring.
Despite Arsenal’s attempts to find a breakthrough, neither side managed to score again during normal time.
Dowman sent off as Fleetwood win on penalties
Arsenal were made to work harder in the 85th minute when Dowman was shown a straight red card after kicking out at an opponent. The dismissal of the 16-year-old meant Arteta’s side had to play the final stages of the game down a man.
With the score still level, the tie went straight to a penalty shootout. Ødegaard, Havertz and Gyökeres converted their efforts for Arsenal, but Fleetwood goalkeeper Lynch saved Guimarães’ penalty.
Fleetwood showed no signs of pressure as they scored all five of their penalties. Conor Haughey scored the winning penalty to give Fleetwood a 5-3 win, and celebrations broke out among the home fans.
Fleetwood will be playing in the Carabao Cup quarter-final after one of the greatest upsets of the competition, while it means an end to Arsenal’s hopes of making it through to the last eight for the third year running.
A vastly changed Arteta side will look to recover from a frustrating night in Lancashire, while Fleetwood can revel in their historic win over a premiership side.
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