Fleetwood Knock Arsenal Out on Penalties — SkimNews
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- Fleetwood Town, a non-League club as recently as 2012, eliminated Arsenal—the reigning Premier League champions—from the Carabao Cup fourth round, drawing 1-1 and winning 5-3 on penalties to reach the quarter-finals.
- Aaron Loupalo-Bi put Fleetwood ahead in the 21st minute, outmuscling 17-year-old defender Marli Salmon before poking the ball past Illan Meslier.
- Viktor Gyokeres equalized in the 50th minute with Arsenal's first chance of the second half, bundling home from close range after work by Northern Ireland teenager Cedach O'Neill in his first start.
- Max Dowman was sent off late for allegedly kicking out at Harrison Neal, leaving Arsenal with 10 men; Andy Hinchcliffe said on Sky Sports commentary that the decision was 'really harsh'.
- Jay Lynch made stoppage-time saves from Ben White and Martin Odegaard, then saved Bruno Guimaraes' penalty before Conor Haughey converted the penalty that sent Fleetwood through.
- Mikel Arteta said Arsenal's attitude and effort were not at fault, but their failure to capitalize on many chances left the tie at penalties rather than a larger scoreline.
- Matt Lawlor said Fleetwood had not practiced penalties even once and had instead denied Arsenal space and options for most of the match before winning the shootout 5-3.
Why it matters: Fleetwood Town gains a quarter-final berth and the distinction of eliminating the reigning Premier League champions, while Arsenal are out of the Carabao Cup. The material contrast is execution: Jay Lynch saved against Bruno Guimaraes, Ben White and Martin Odegaard, despite Matt Lawlor saying Fleetwood had not practiced penalties even once.
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