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Fleetwood Town eliminate Arsenal on penalties after League Cup draw

Fourth-tier Fleetwood Town beat Arsenal 5-3 in a shootout after a 1-1 draw at Highbury Stadium, advancing to the League Cup quarter-finals.

NewsJaws DeskEditorial desk

Published 27 Oct 2026, 22:51 GMT2 min read

The Percy Ronson Stand at Highbury Stadium in Fleetwood. — File photograph of the Percy Ronson Stand at Highbury Stadium, Fleetwood, taken in 2007. FTFC01 — Tangerines at English Wikipedia (resized and converted to WebP). Public domain.Image source Image licence: Public domain

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Fleetwood Town eliminated Arsenal from the League Cup at Highbury Stadium in Fleetwood on 27 October 2026, winning 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, according to Reuters. The fourth-tier hosts advanced to the quarter-finals at the expense of the Premier League side.

The gap between the clubs made the result striking: DPA reported that Fleetwood were 18th in England’s fourth tier, while Arsenal were the reigning Premier League champions. Arsenal had won seven of their first eight league matches of the season, according to Reuters. Fleetwood’s win ended their opponents’ League Cup campaign while extending their own into the last eight.

How Fleetwood took Arsenal to penalties

Aaron Loupalo-Bi gave Fleetwood the lead in the 21st minute. Reuters reported that he shrugged off Arsenal defender Marli Salmon and scored from a tight angle past goalkeeper Illan Meslier. DPA identified Loupalo-Bi as a Fulham loanee and described Arsenal’s side as much changed.

The match had already been interrupted for more than eight minutes after a drone was spotted above the stadium, Reuters reported. Arsenal then equalised shortly after half-time through Viktor Gyokeres. Reuters said Ceadach O’Neill, making his senior debut, controlled a long pass from Piero Hincapie and sent the ball into the area for Gyokeres to finish from close range.

Arsenal increased the pressure after the break, with Martin Odegaard coming on at half-time, according to DPA. Their task became harder late in the match when teenager Max Dowman was sent off. Reuters said the dismissal followed an altercation with Fleetwood’s Neal near the halfway line.

Jay Lynch’s saves and the decisive penalty

Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch helped keep the score level before the shootout. Reuters reported a crucial save from Ben White as Arsenal pressed late; DPA also credited Lynch with saves from White and Odegaard. Those stops left Fleetwood one shootout away from a place in the quarter-finals.

In the shootout, Lynch saved Bruno Guimaraes’s attempt before teenage Fleetwood defender Conor Haughey scored the decisive penalty, DPA reported. Fleetwood converted all their kicks to win 5-3, and supporters invaded the pitch at Highbury Stadium after Haughey’s goal, according to DPA.