League Two Fleetwood stun champions Arsenal on penalties in League Cup
Premier League champions Arsenal were knocked out of the League Cup by Fleetwood Town, 18th in the fourth tier, who won 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Mikel Arteta called it "a really sad day."
Archive image · Photo: Steve Daniels / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Arsenal were eliminated from the League Cup in the fourth round by League Two side Fleetwood Town on Tuesday, losing 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Fulham loanee Aaron Loupalo-Bi put Fleetwood ahead in the 21st minute and Viktor Gyokeres equalized in the 50th. Max Dowman was sent off late on after appearing to kick out at Harrison Neal.
Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch saved Arsenal's first penalty from Bruno Guimaraes, and young defender Conor Haughey scored the decisive kick past Illan Meslier, who was making his Arsenal debut. Play was halted for about seven minutes early in the match when a drone hovered over the stadium.
"A really sad day for us," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. Fleetwood, 18th in League Two, reached the competition's quarterfinals for the first time. According to ESPN, it was the first time reigning Premier League champions had lost to a fourth-tier side in the League Cup. Fleetwood manager Matt Lawlor said of the shootout: "I'm going to be honest, we haven't practised once."