League Two side Fleetwood Town knocked Premier League champions Arsenal out of the League Cup, winning a penalty shootout 5-3 after a 1-1 draw at Highbury Stadium.
League Two side Fleetwood Town knocked Premier League champions Arsenal out of the League Cup on Tuesday, winning a penalty shootout 5-3 after a 1-1 draw at Highbury Stadium in Fleetwood. NBC Sports called it the most famous night in the history of the club from the small fishing town, and it was the first time Fleetwood had ever reached the fourth round, after beating Sheffield United 1-0 in the previous round.
Fleetwood took the lead in the 21st minute when 20-year-old forward Aaron Loupalo-Bi, on loan from Fulham, got behind Arsenal's defence and beat debutant backup goalkeeper Illan Meslier with a low finish. Manager Mikel Arteta brought on senior players Martin Odegaard and Ben White at half-time, and Arsenal were level five minutes into the second half through Viktor Gyokeres in the 50th minute. Arsenal were reduced to 10 men in the 85th minute when 16-year-old Max Dowman was sent off for kicking out at an opponent after an aggressive slide tackle.
Arsenal dominated the match, finishing with 78 percent possession, 26 shots and seven attempts on target, against Fleetwood's 22 percent possession, three shots and two on target. In the shootout, Fleetwood converted all five of their kicks through Ryan Coughlan, Harry Neal, Will Davies, Alex Cannon and Conor Haughey. Arsenal scored their first three through Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Gyokeres, before goalkeeper Jay Lynch saved Bruno Guimaraes' fourth attempt and the tie ended 5-3.
The match recap and the second report agree on the scorers and the named penalty sequence, and the 5-3 shootout score follows from those kicks. One listings page on the same site showed the shootout as 5-4, which does not match the named kicks, and the full-match shot and possession figures used here come from the second report rather than the second-half figures in the recap.
The win puts Fleetwood into the quarter-finals and gives a fourth-tier club a result that will define its season, with the celebrations spilling onto the pitch at Highbury as supporters rushed on at full time. Fleetwood spent 10 seasons in League One from 2014 to 2024, the highest level the club has ever reached, before relegation back to the fourth tier. Fleetwood next host Bristol Rovers on October 31, while Arsenal travel to Liverpool on November 1.
People Sentiments Public Mood: Positive
- Fleetwood supporters rushed onto the pitch at Highbury to celebrate at full time
- NBC Sports called the win the most famous night in the club's history