Arsenal suffered a shock Carabao Cup exit after fourth-tier Fleetwood Town defeated the Premier League champions 5-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in their fourth-round clash at Highbury Stadium on Tuesday, October 27.

The defeat ended Arsenal’s hopes of winning the League Cup this season, while Fleetwood secured a historic place in the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.

Loupalo-Bi Gives Fleetwood the Lead

Fleetwood made a dream start as Aaron Loupalo-Bi opened the scoring in the 21st minute. The forward capitalised on a defensive error by Arsenal youngster Marli Salmon before finishing past goalkeeper Illan Meslier to put the League Two side ahead.

Arsenal dominated possession but struggled to break down the hosts’ organised defence before half-time. Mikel Arteta introduced Martin Odegaard at the interval to inject creativity into the visitors’ attack.

The change helped Arsenal find an equaliser five minutes after the restart. Viktor Gyokeres converted Ceadach O’Neill’s delivery in the 50th minute, scoring his first goal of the season to bring the Gunners back into the contest.

Arsenal subsequently created several opportunities to take the lead, but Kai Havertz missed promising chances, while Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch produced crucial saves to deny Ben White and Odegaard in the closing stages.

Max Dowman Sent Off as Arsenal Lose on Penalties

Arsenal’s task became more difficult when 16-year-old Max Dowman was sent off in the 85th minute following an altercation with Fleetwood midfielder Harrison Neal.

With neither side finding a winner, the contest went to a penalty shootout. Both teams converted their opening three attempts before Lynch saved Bruno Guimaraes’ effort for Arsenal.

Conor Haughey then converted Fleetwood’s decisive penalty to seal a memorable 5-3 shootout victory and spark celebrations among the home supporters.

It was a deja vu moment for the Gunners, who lost to a 4th tier English club previously as well. It happened in the 2012-13 season when the North London club lost to Bradford City that time, which also came in penalties.