Fleetwood Town end Arsenal’s Carabao Cup run in dramatic penalty shootout

Fleetwood Town produced one of the biggest shocks of the season by eliminating Premier League champions Arsenal from the Carabao Cup on penalties.

The League One side won 5-3 in the shootout after the fourth-round tie finished 1-1 at Highbury on Tuesday evening, securing a place in the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.

Fleetwood took the lead in the 21st minute when Aaron Lobalo-B found the net. Arsenal levelled five minutes after half-time through Victor Gyokeres, but could not find a winning goal despite dominating much of the second half.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta named a side containing mostly substitutes, although he turned to several first-team players after the interval in an effort to change the course of the match.

Ben White, Eberechi Eze, Martin Ødegaard, Ezri Konsa and Bruno Guimaraes were all introduced as Arsenal increased the pressure on their opponents.

The visitors created a succession of chances, but Fleetwood’s players defended resolutely and restricted Arsenal to a single goal. Their resistance took the match to penalties, with the League One team completing the upset.

Ødegaard, Kai Havertz and Gyokeres converted Arsenal’s first three penalties. Guimaraes missed the fourth, leaving Fleetwood in control of the shootout and allowing them to claim a famous victory.

Arsenal’s task became more difficult in the 85th minute when teenage forward Max Dowman was sent off following a confrontation with Fleetwood players.

The Gunners had reached the fourth round by beating Ipswich Town 4-2 in an entertaining third-round tie. Fleetwood, meanwhile, had earned their place in the last 16 with a 1-0 victory over Sheffield United, the Championship side.

They have now followed that result by knocking out Arsenal to complete a remarkable run from the fourth tier and become one of the competition’s biggest surprise packages this season. Their quarter-final opponents will be confirmed later.

Fleetwood are scheduled to face Bristol Rovers in the English third tier on 31 October 2026. Arsenal’s next listed fixture is against Liverpool in the Premier League on 1 November 2026.