Football fans were left stunned this week as premier league champions Arsenal were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by league two side Fleetwood FC, on Tuesday 27 October. The fixture saw the champions travelling to Fleetwood’s own Highbury stadium, with a capacity of just 5,500.
The game had a hectic start with an eight-minute stoppage due to referee Michael Salisbury’s concerns about an overhead drone. Once the game resumed, Fleetwood took the lead in the twenty-first minute of the game. With a clear strike into the bottom right corner of the goal by striker Loupalo-Bi.
Fleetwood then switched to a more defensive style of play for the remainder of the first half as Arsenal fought desperately for an equaliser with missed attempts from Jurriën Timber and Viktor Gyökeres. The first half ended with the favourites trailing behind.
Mikel Arteta made two substitutions at half-time with the intent of securing his team’s win. Martin Odegaard and Ben White replaced defenders Timber and Salmon to strengthen Arsenal’s attacking front.
Arteta’s tactics paid off as Arsenal got their equaliser in the fiftieth minute as 18-year-old Ceadach O’Neill put in a strong low cross from the left wing, which was slotted into the back net following a clumsy yet successful strike from Gyökeres.
Arsenal dominated the remainder of the second half as they relentlessly fought for the winning goal. Havertz and Lewis-Skelly led Arsenal’s attack, putting the Fleetwood defence under immense pressure.
Both teams’ shared frustration peaked in the eighty-fifth minute as Arsenal’s 16-year-old forward Max Dowman was shown a red card for his emotional outburst at Fleetwood’s Harrison Neal. Dowman’s foul resulted in a brawl between both teams on the sideline as the referee intervened to separate the players. The moment sparked an online conversation as viewers tried to figure out what Arteta said to Dowman as he headed towards the dressing room.
The full-time level was eventually blown, and both teams began preparations for a penalty shootout.
Fleetwood’s Ronan Caughlon stepped up first, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way with a confident strike into the bottom left corner. Odegaard put Arsenal level with a powerful strike.
Both teams were level at 3-3 following successful strikes from Fleetwood’s Neal and Davies and Arsenal’s Havertz and Gyökeres. Andy Cannon then stepped up to make it 4-3 to Fleetwood.
The game’s pinnacle moment came as Guimaraes stepped forward to put Arsenal level. The midfielder performed a stuttered run up to the ball and shot towards the bottom right corner, where it was saved by the Fleetwood goalkeeper. Defender Conor Haughey then buried his own penalty into the back of the net to secure Fleetwood’s victory.
The win marked a historic achievement for the club as supporters rushed onto the pitch to celebrate with the team. The team now progress to the cup’s quarter finals for the first time in club history.
Arsenal stood silently as they digested the unexpected loss despite holding 78% of the possession throughout the match with a total of 26 shots.
In a post-match interview with Sky Sports, Fleetwood’s manager, Matt Lawlow, was asked about his side’s penalty preparations. Lawlow said, “I’m going to be honest, we haven’t practised once…I was just so pleased we even took it to that and whatever happened, happened.”
Fleetwood will now face Everton in the quarter-final on the 15th of December.
