Fourth-Tier Fleetwood Stun Champions Arsenal on Penalties in Carabao Cup Shock

Fleetwood Town produced one of the great upsets in English cup history on Tuesday night, dumping Arsenal out of the Carabao Cup fourth round on penalties. The League Two side, sitting 18th in the fourth tier, held the reigning Premier League champions to a 1-1 draw at Highbury Stadium before winning the shootout 5-3 to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in the club's history. Aaron Loupalo-Bi fired the hosts ahead in the 21st minute, beating debutant Arsenal goalkeeper Illan Meslier with a low finish. Viktor Gyokeres levelled five minutes after half-time with his first goal of the season, but Arsenal could not find a winner despite dominating the second half. The visitors' night worsened when 16-year-old Max Dowman was sent off in the 85th minute for kicking out at Harrison Neal. In the shootout Fleetwood converted all five of their penalties, goalkeeper Jay Lynch saved Bruno Guimaraes' effort, and teenage defender Conor Haughey scored the decisive kick to spark a pitch invasion. The evening had begun strangely, with play halted for around eight minutes early on after a drone flew over the stadium. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta refused to blame his players' attitude afterwards, calling it a sad day and admitting his side had failed to turn dominance into goals. For Fleetwood, it is arguably the biggest victory in their history and the lowest-ranked side ever to beat Arsenal in a domestic cup.