Fleetwood Town of League Two beat Arsenal on Tuesday after a 1-1 draw and a penalty shootout to reach the first League Cup (Carabao Cup) quarter-final in the club’s history.
Arsenal, level on points with Premier League leaders Manchester City, had won 11 of their previous 13 games, Al Jazeera reported. Fleetwood were 18th in the fourth tier and had lost their last two league games, to Exeter City and Cheltenham, according to Al Jazeera.
The fourth-round tie was played at Fleetwood’s Highbury Stadium. Sky Sports reported that Arsenal’s Max Dowman, 16, was sent off late in the game for kicking out at Fleetwood’s Harrison Neal after a strong challenge.
How Fleetwood beat Arsenal in the League Cup tie
Aaron Loupalo-Bi gave Fleetwood the lead in the 21st minute after beating Marli Salmon and Illan Meslier, according to Sky Sports. The club’s match report gave the same account.
Viktor Gyokeres equalised in the 50th minute, Sky Sports reported. Fleetwood’s report said he turned in a cross from Ceadach O’Neill. Fleetwood said Loupalo-Bi later had a second-half goal ruled out for offside.
Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch made a double save from Dowman, according to the club’s match report. Sky Sports reported late saves from Ben White and Martin Odegaard.
Play was also stopped early by an unauthorised drone. Sky Sports put the delay at about seven minutes, while Al Jazeera said it lasted eight.
The table below shows the key events, as reported by Sky Sports and Fleetwood Town.
| Minute | Event |
|---|---|
| 21 | Loupalo-Bi scores for Fleetwood, 1-0 |
| 50 | Gyokeres equalises for Arsenal, 1-1 |
| Second half | Loupalo-Bi goal ruled out for offside |
| Late | Dowman sent off |
| Penalties | Fleetwood win on penalties |
Arsenal played the rest of the game with 10 men and the tie went to penalties, Sky Sports reported.
The two sides before the tie
The table below sets out each club’s league position and recent results going into the tie, using figures from Al Jazeera.
| Club | League position | Recent results |
|---|---|---|
| Fleetwood Town | 18th in League Two | Lost last two league games, to Exeter City and Cheltenham |
| Arsenal | Level on points with Premier League leaders Manchester City | Won 11 of previous 13 games, including 2-0 against Everton |
The shootout
Fleetwood scored all five of their penalties, according to the club’s match report. Al Jazeera reported that Arsenal scored their first three.
Lynch saved Bruno Guimaraes’s penalty, and Conor Haughey scored the winning fifth Fleetwood kick, according to the club’s match report. Ronan Coughlan, Neal, Will Davies and Andy Cannon also scored for Fleetwood.
The result sends Fleetwood, a club from the fourth tier, into the first League Cup quarter-final in its history, according to the club’s match report.
Fleetwood manager Matt Lawlor told Sky Sports the team had not prepared for the moment. “I’m going to be honest, we haven’t practised once,” he said.
What Arteta said
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised his players’ commitment after the defeat. “I cannot fault at all the attitude of the players,” he said, according to Sky Sports. He also called it “a really sad day for us”.
On the red card, Arteta said he had not seen it. “I haven’t seen it with the camera. You can’t really see what happens. The decision was made by the referee and that’s it,” he said, according to Sky Sports.
Arsenal’s nine changes and missed chances
Arteta made nine changes from the side that beat Everton 2-0, Al Jazeera reported. Only Myles Lewis-Skelly and Gyokeres kept their places.
The new line-up carried three teenagers: Dowman, 16, Salmon, 17, and O’Neill, 18, who made his debut. Meslier also made his Arsenal debut in goal, and Odegaard came on at half-time, according to Al Jazeera.
Kai Havertz missed several chances, Sky Sports reported. Arsenal had 19 shots off target, Sky Sports reported.
Arsenal have lost cup ties to lower-division opponents before, Al Jazeera noted. They lost on penalties to fourth-tier Bradford in the 2012 League Cup under Arsene Wenger, lost the 1969 League Cup final to third-tier Swindon and went out of the 1992 FA Cup to fourth-tier Wrexham.
Under Arteta, Arsenal lost FA Cup ties to second-tier Southampton last season and to Nottingham Forest in 2022, Al Jazeera reported.
The table below lists Arsenal’s earlier cup defeats, as reported by Al Jazeera.
| Year | Competition | Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | League Cup | Fourth-tier Bradford, lost on penalties, under Wenger |
| 1969 | League Cup final | Third-tier Swindon |
| 1992 | FA Cup | Fourth-tier Wrexham |
| Last season | FA Cup | Second-tier Southampton |
| 2022 | FA Cup | Nottingham Forest |
As in the 2012 defeat by Bradford, the tie against Fleetwood was decided on penalties.
Related: our Bayern v Arsenal team news and our report on Liverpool v Chelsea in the Carabao Cup.
What happens next
Arsenal travel to Anfield to play Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday, Nov. 1, according to the Sky Sports match page.
