October 28: League Two strugglers Fleetwood Town stunned Arsenal to knock the English Carabao Cup champions out on penalties.
Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimaraes had his penalty saved by Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch before teenage defender Conor Haughey converted his spot-kick to give his club a 5-3 win on penalties after a 1-1 draw in one of the League Cup’s biggest upsets.
Arsenal had not enjoyed a good return at ‘Highbury’ after Fulham loanee Aaron Loupalo-Bi scored for the home side in the 21st minute. Without Declan Rice and Gabriel, Mikel Arteta’s side struggled for fluency and after the break, the introduction of Martin Odegaard helped Arsenal get back into the game.
Swedish striker Victor Gyokeres equalized with his first goal of the season and both Ben White and Odegaard had good efforts saved. Five minutes later, teenage prodigy Max Dowman was sent off.
In a press conference, Arteta reflected on the elimination: “I have nothing to criticize the players for their attitude and intensity throughout the game, with 11 and with 10, but when you’re playing in this superior way, you don’t have to give anything to the opponent. When we create the volume of shots and chances we’ve had, you have to score three, four or five. You take advantage of reality, and there’s no room for that.”
Fleetwood progress to the last 16 of the League Cup for the first time in their history. On Saturday, they host Bristol Rovers in League Two.
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