Fleetwood stun champions Arsenal on penalties — and the Carabao Cup quarter-finals are set

It is the cup shock of the season so far. League Two Fleetwood Town, a side sitting just two points above the relegation zone, knocked Premier League champions Arsenal out of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night. The fourth-round tie at Highbury Stadium finished 1-1, and the hosts held their nerve to win the shootout 5-3.

How the shock unfolded

Mikel Arteta made nine changes, and goalkeeper Illan Meslier made his Arsenal debut. Fleetwood went ahead after 21 minutes. Mark Helm set up Aaron Loupalo-Bi, who held off his marker and poked the ball through Meslier’s legs to send the home crowd wild.

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Arsenal levelled five minutes after the break. Viktor Gyökeres turned the ball in from close range for his first goal of the season, and most of the ground expected the champions to go on and win it.

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A red card and a nervy finish

The winner never came. Instead, with around five minutes of normal time left, 16-year-old Max Dowman was shown a straight red card for kicking out at Harrison Neal after a heavy challenge. Arsenal have said they will appeal the decision.

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Lynch the hero, Haughey the match-winner

In the shootout, Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch saved from Bruno Guimarães. That left 19-year-old Conor Haughey to step up, and he scored the winning penalty to send the League Two side through.

Fleetwood manager Matt Lawlor admitted his side had not even rehearsed for spot-kicks: “I’m going to be honest, we haven’t practised once.” Arteta felt Arsenal deserved more. “With what we produced, it should have showed in the scoreline,” he said.

The Carabao Cup quarter-final draw

Fleetwood’s reward is another home tie against Premier League opposition. Everton and Newcastle meet tonight (Thursday 29 October, 7:45pm, Sky Sports+) to decide who travels to the Lancashire coast. The ties will be played in the week commencing 14 December.

For London fans, Crystal Palace are the capital’s last side standing after Chelsea also went out in this round, beaten on penalties at Anfield after a 1-1 draw. Palace will host Sunderland at Selhurst Park.

What next for Arsenal?

There is no time to dwell. Arsenal are level on 21 points with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, and Sunday brings a huge trip to Liverpool (4:30pm, Sky Sports). We have every London game this weekend in our London football weekend guide.

Sources: Carabao Cup, Fleetwood Town FC, Arsenal FC. Follow Energy Radio on Facebook and Instagram for more sport.