Fourth-Division Fleetwood Eliminates Arsenal from League Cup

Fourth-tier side Fleetwood Town stunned Arsenal at Highbury, winning 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the Round of 16 of the English Football League Cup on Tuesday, after an Arsenal player was sent off.

Aaron Lobbello put Fleetwood ahead in the 21st minute, beating Arsenal defender Marley Salmon before firing a shot from a tight angle past goalkeeper Illan Meslier.

The match was paused for more than eight minutes early on after a drone was spotted over the stadium.

Arsenal equalized four minutes into the second half through Viktor Gyökeres, who scored from close range after Kedaugh O’Neal, making his first-team debut, controlled a long ball from Piero Hincapié and passed it into the penalty area for Gyökeres to finish.

Arsenal’s task became more difficult when newly promoted Max Dauman was sent off after a confrontation with Fleetwood’s Harrison Neil near the halfway line.

Fleetwood withstood Arsenal’s pressure in the final minutes, with Lynch making a crucial save from Ben White’s dangerous shot to send the match to penalties.

Lynch then dove to his left to parry a penalty from Bruno Guimarães with his hand, putting his side ahead 4-3, before Conor Hazard deceived goalkeeper Meslier to guide his team into the quarter-finals.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Lynch said, “It’s amazing for the club and the town. Honestly, it means everything to everyone.” He added that the team drew inspiration from Grimsby Town’s cup victory over Manchester United last season.

“We took courage from Grimsby’s win over Manchester United last year. We kind of compared the situation. The whole team performed brilliantly throughout the match. The victory came at the expense of the English champions. Credit goes to these players.”

The win was a remarkable result for Fleetwood, who sit in the lower half of the League Two table and had won only one of their previous eight league matches.

In contrast, Arsenal had won seven of their first eight Premier League games and remained unbeaten in the UEFA Champions League.

Fleetwood will learn their quarter-final opponent when the League Cup draw is held after the remaining fourth-round matches take place on Wednesday.