Fleetwood Town 1-1 Arsenal (5-3 on pens): Gunners eliminated by League 2 side

Fleetwood Town pulled off a giant-killing for the ages as they beat Premier League champions Arsenal 5-4 on penalties in the EFL Cup.

Match Report 

Arsenal's first game at a ground called Highbury Stadium in 20 years ended in a humbling as Max Dowman was sent off late on in a 1-1 draw, with Bruno Guimaraes missing the decisive penalty.

Goalkeeper Jay Lynch was a Fleetwood hero as he kept out Guimaraes' spot-kick, paving the way for Conor Haughey to seal the most famous win in the club's history.

Play was paused early on due to a drone flying over the stadium. But when play resumed, Arsenal could not get into gear, and their slack start was punished in the 21st minute, with Loupalo-Bi getting the better of Marli Salmon and finishing neatly beyond Illan Meslier.

Jurrien Timber headed off target towards the end of the first half, but Mikel Arteta wasted no time in making alterations at the break.

Timber was replaced by Ben White, while Martin Odegaard came on for Salmon.

Those changes paid dividends as the Gunners drew level in the 50th minute, with Gyokeres bundling home a scrappy equaliser after Fleetwood failed to deal with a left-wing centre.

Kai Havertz seemed all set to put Arsenal ahead when Lynch spiled Dowman's strike, but Rhys Bennett made a stunning block.

Havertz slammed wide after latching onto Odegaard's throughball soon after, but Arsenal's flurry soon died off.

And their task was made more difficult in the 85th minute, with Dowman sent off for violent conduct after he kicked out at Andy Cannon following a robust but fair challenge from the Fleetwood attacker.

Lynch made a spectacular stop to deny White what seemed set to be a certain winner, and he was at it again in the shoot-out, lunging to his left to thwart Guimaraes.

Haughey then made no mistake, as Fleetwood – 18th in League Two – dumped out last season's runners-up.

Shock and awe

The FA Cup is the English competition usually associated with giant-killings, but this result is arguably the biggest shock in the history of the EFL Cup.

There are 84 places between Fleetwood and Arsenal in the English football pyramid, but Matt Lawlor's team played with the endeavour, effort and quality needed to go up against the best.

Fleetwood, who had not won any of their previous five meetings with Premier League opponents, only had three shots across the 90 minutes. They got two of them on target. They created chances worth just 0.26 expected goals to Arsenal's 2.21 xG.

But it mattered little, for they were simply up for the battle, and Arsenal could not match them. The Gunners were, of course, slicker in possession, but there was a distinct lack of craft, Odegaard aside. He created three chances, which led the visitors along with Piero Hincapie, Ceadach O’Neill and Eberechi Eze.

As expected in such a win, the underdogs relied on their goalkeeper, and Lynch delivered with five saves. The most important one of all was the one in the shoot-out, though.

This is a victory that will go down in Fleetwood folklore, the greatest night in their history, and the quarter-finals await. Arsenal, meanwhile, must lick their wounds ahead of a trip to Anfield on Sunday.

Match Events

21' GOAL! Aaron Loupalo-Bi breaks the deadlock! Fleetwood Town 1-0 Arsenal

41' Highlight from Fleetwood Town vs Arsenal

50' GOAL! Gyökeres scores from close range to equalize! Fleetwood Town 1-1 Arsenal

52' Highlight from Fleetwood Town vs Arsenal

85' Red Card! Max Dowman sent off

91' Highlight from Fleetwood Town vs Arsenal

Line-ups

Fleetwood Town XI: Ched Evans, Jay Lynch, Shaun Rooney, Mark Helm, Rhys Bennett, Jake Batty, Harrison Neal, Finley Potter, Aaron Loupalo-Bi, Conor Haughey, Crispin McLean

Subs: Danny Andrew, Andy Cannon, Ronan Coughlan, Josh Thomas, James Pradic, Adam Murphy, Josh Robertson, Will Davies, Rafaele Cirino

Arsenal XI: Viktor Gyökeres, Havertz, Illan Meslier, Martín Zubimendi, Timber, Hincapie, Cristhian Mosquera, Lewis-Skelly, Max Dowman, Ceadach O'Neill, Marli Salmon

Subs: Kepa, Ødegaard, Guimaraes, Ngoyo, Ben White, Eberechi Eze, Marcell Washington, Maalik Hashi, Andre Harriman-Annous