Fleetwood stun Premier League champions Arsenal in Carabao Cup's greatest-ever upset

Fleetwood Town, sitting 18th in League Two and 84 places below their opponents in the English football pyramid, eliminated Premier League champions Arsenal 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Highbury Stadium on Tuesday night to reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in what is being called the greatest shock in the competition’s history.

The Cod Army took a deserved lead in the 21st minute when Aaron Loupalo-Bi fired low into the net, giving the lowest-ranked side remaining in the tournament a first-half advantage against a much-changed Arsenal. Mikel Arteta responded by introducing Martin Odegaard at the break, and Viktor Gyokeres levelled shortly after the restart. But Fleetwood held firm under sustained pressure, with goalkeeper Jay Lynch producing a brilliant save to deny Ben White and force the penalty shoot-out.

In the shoot-out, Lynch saved from Bruno Guimaraes, and Conor Haughey converted the winning kick to complete one of English football’s most remarkable cup results.

Arsenal’s evening was further soured by the dismissal of 16-year-old midfielder Max Dowman. After being on the receiving end of a heavy challenge from behind by Fleetwood’s Harrison Neal, Dowman kicked out in retaliation, sparking a brawl between the two sides. Referee Michael Salisbury, without VAR, showed Dowman a straight red card for violent conduct, leaving Arsenal to play out the closing stages with ten men.

Arteta revealed after the match that his words to Dowman as the teenager walked off the pitch related to a conversation they had held before kick-off. “When we prepared the context of the match, we were very clear on the things to respect, the things that emotionally we have to dominate,” the Arsenal manager said. He added that he had not spoken to Dowman since the red card.

The result ends Arsenal’s involvement in the Carabao Cup at the fourth-round stage and sends Fleetwood, a club operating four divisions below the top flight, into the last eight of a major domestic cup for the first time in their history.