Fourth-tier Fleetwood stun Arsenal in League Cup shootout

Fourth-tier Fleetwood Town beat 10-man Arsenal 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the League Cup last 16 on Tuesday, pulling off a major upset at Highbury Stadium. Aaron Loupalo-Bi put the League Two side ahead in the 21st minute, shrugging off Arsenal defender Marli Salmon before driving a tight-angle effort beyond goalkeeper Illan Meslier. The match had been interrupted early on for more than eight minutes after a drone was spotted above the stadium. Arsenal drew level four minutes after the break through Viktor Gyokeres, who converted from close range after Ceadach O’Neill, making his senior debut, controlled a long ball from Piero Hincapie and delivered into the area. Arsenal’s task became tougher when teenager Max Dowman was sent off following an altercation with Fleetwood’s Neal near the halfway line. Fleetwood weathered late Arsenal pressure, with Lynch making an important save from Ben White to take the tie to penalties. Lynch then dived to his left to palm away Guimaraes’ spot-kick to put his side ahead 4-3, before Conor Haughey sent Meslier the wrong way to fire his side into the quarter-finals. “Amazing for the club, the town. Honestly it means everything to everyone,” Lynch told Sky adding they took inspiration from Grimsby Town’s cup victory over Manchester United last season. “We took heart from Grimsby beating Man Utd last year. We kind of compared it. The whole team throughout the game was magnificent. To beat the English champions – credit to these lads.” The victory was a remarkable result for Fleetwood, who sit in the bottom half of League Two and had won only one of their previous eight league matches. In contrast, Arsenal had won seven of their opening eight Premier League games and were also unbeaten in the Champions League. Fleetwood will discover their quarter-final opponents when the League Cup draw is made after the remaining fourth-round ties on Wednesday.