Arsenal stunned by fourth-tier Fleetwood in League Cup

Arsenal suffered one of the most humiliating defeats in their history as the Premier League champions were stunned by fourth-tier minnows Fleetwood in a League Cup penalty shoot-out on Tuesday. Mikel Arteta’s side crashed out 5-3 on penalties in an incredible fourth round upset after the tie finished 1-1 in normal time. Arsenal’s Bruno Guimaraes had his penalty saved by Jay Lynch in the shoot-out and Conor Haughey scored Fleetwood’s winner. Aaron Loupalo-Bi’s first-half goal had put Fleetwood ahead before Viktor Gyokeres equalised after the interval. Arsenal’s 16-year-old rising star Max Dowman was sent off for violent conduct in the closing stages. Arteta paid the price for prioritising Sunday’s Premier League trip to Liverpool as his decision to make nine changes backfired spectacularly. No one would have predicted Arsenal’s embarrassment regardless of Arteta’s selection gamble.

They had moved level on points with Premier League leaders Manchester City after a 2-0 victory over Everton on Saturday. But instead of extending their run of 11 wins from their 13 previous games, Arsenal returned to north London red-faced after a loss that ranks among the darkest days in the club’s glittering history. Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal suffered a shock League Cup loss against fourth tier Bradford on penalties in 2012. Arteta’s team were beaten by second tier Southampton in the FA Cup last season and also lost to Nottingham Forest, then in the Championship, in the same competition in 2022. Supporters of an older vintage will recall Arsenal’s 1969 League Cup final loss against third tier Swindon and their 1992 FA Cup exit at fourth tier Wrexham. But even those painful defeats cannot compare to this remarkable result. For once, Arsenal fans will not have fond memories of Highbury —…