Fleetwood Town eliminates Arsenal on penalties in Carabao Cup upset

Fleetwood Town secured a place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals by defeating Arsenal 5-3 in a penalty shoot-out after the match ended 1-1. Aaron Loupalo-Bi gave the League Two side the lead early in the first half, while Viktor Gyökeres equalised for Arsenal after the break. The game was interrupted for seven minutes when an unidentified drone hovered over Highbury Stadium, but play resumed and continued with both teams creating numerous chances. Max Dowman was shown a red card for an alleged kick on Harrison Neal in stoppage time, leaving Fleetwood with ten men for the shoot-out.

Arsenal goalkeeper Illan Meslier saved a late chance, but Fleetwood’s Jay Lynch denied both Ben White and Martin Ødegaard in the final minutes. In the shoot-out, Bruno Guimarães saw his penalty saved, while Conor Haughey converted the decisive spot-kick for Fleetwood.

"First of all, congratulations to Fleetwood for going through to the next round in the manner they've done it," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told Sky Sports. "We had a lot of possession and chances, but we failed to capitalise. It wasn't a question of attitude; we simply lacked the finishing edge."

Fleetwood manager Matt Lawlor said his side had not rehearsed penalties before the match but praised the players’ composure.

"We didn’t practice penalties, but the lads took care of themselves. It’s a historic night for the club," Lawlor added.

The result marks a rare defeat for the reigning Premier League champions in the early stages of the competition.