Arsenal Knocked Out of Carabao Cup by Fourth-Tier Fleetwood Town on Penalties

Premier League champions Arsenal were eliminated from the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, losing a penalty shootout 5-3 to fourth-tier Fleetwood Town after the match ended 1-1 in regulation.

Bruno Guimarães saw his spot kick saved by Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch. Teenage defender Conor Haughey then struck the winning penalty, sending home members of the crowd onto the pitch at Highbury Stadium. The result is among the greatest upsets in the competition's 66-year history.

Asked about his thoughts before the decisive kick, Haughey told Sky Sports: "I don't know, just pick my spot and put it in! Top corner and then just run." He added: "We've just beaten the Premier League champions, it just shows how good this team are."

It is the first time the reigning Premier League champions have been knocked out of the League Cup by a fourth-tier club. Eighty-four places separate the two sides in the English football pyramid, and DraftKings had Fleetwood at +1500 to advance just before kickoff.

Arsenal did not field their strongest team, with Declan Rice, Gabriel and David Raya missing. Manager Mikel Arteta still chose a strong lineup of experienced internationals, and captain Martin Ødegaard came on at halftime with Arsenal trailing 1-0.

Fleetwood, who sit 18th in League Two, went ahead in the 21st minute through Fulham loanee Aaron Loupalo-Bi against an Arsenal side that struggled for fluency. Arsenal improved after the break and equalized in the 50th minute, when Viktor Gyökeres just managed to turn in his first goal of the season.

Arsenal kept pressing without reward, and frustration showed when teenager Max Dowman was sent off with five minutes remaining. He appeared to receive a rebuke from Arteta as he left the pitch. Lynch also made big saves from Ben White and Ødegaard before the match went to penalties, where Fleetwood converted every kick.

"A really sad day for us," Arteta said. "I cannot fault at all the attitude of the players." He said Arsenal had many chances and shots, and that to avoid a shootout they needed to take them. "We didn't and football is about that," he said.

Fleetwood reach the quarterfinals for the first time, and it was their first win over a top-flight side. Manager Matt Lawlor said the result might not sink in, noting the team has a league game Saturday. "The biggest night in the club's history in terms of opposition coming to town and we've managed to beat the champions somehow," he said. Lynch said the players drew inspiration from fourth-tier Grimsby Town's win over Manchester United in last season's competition.

Fleetwood, a coastal town in northwest England, is best known as the place where former England and Leicester striker Jamie Vardy made his name. He spent one season there, helping the club win promotion from the fifth tier into the English Football League before moving to Leicester in 2012. Arsenal have now lost their past two League Cup ties against fourth-tier opposition, following a penalty defeat to Bradford City in the 2012-13 quarterfinals, and had won the eight meetings in between. They also lost their previous shootout, against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final in Budapest at the end of last season.