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ARSENAL are LEVEL against League Two Fleetwood in the Carabao Cup!
Cod Army striker Aaron Loupalo-Bi struck 21 minutes in to give his side a dream start against the Premier League champions.
After bringing on captain Martin Odegaard at half-time, the Gunners equalised five minutes into the second-half through Viktor Gyokeres.
Two minutes into the game, the referee had to call a stop as a DRONE was hovering over the pitch.
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74. Batty gets a yellow card for a lunge on Dowman.
He saw the ball, committed to the slide, it was no longer there when he got to the patch of grass.
No complaints there as the Arsenal youngster gets gingerly to his feet.
72. The hosts have not had a shot of any form this half.
It has been total Arsenal dominance, so much so, Arteta may be asking questions how Fleetwood are still in this game.
Not putting them away leaves The Gunners open to that late sucker-punch.
Chants of ‘boring, boring Arsenal’ ring out from the home stands.
70. Fleetwood launch another long throw into the box.
Eze looks to dribble it out but is robbed of the ball.
Fortunately for Arsenal, as the hosts come forward, the flag goes up for offside.
68. Coughlan is on for Fleetwood now.
He has been in good form with four goals in as many games.
Many questioned the decision not to start him tonight, now he has the chance to prove them right.
66. Eze comes on for O’Neill for the visitors.
Arteta definitely wants to get this game won now.
They have looked a different proposition since Odegaard has come on.
64. Huge cheer from the crowd as the hosts are awarded a free-kick.
It is launched downfield, asking questions of the aerial capabilities of The Gunners.
As the visitors retain the ball, there is a shout of ‘get into him’ from the stands.
62. Arsenal are awarded a free-kick in a wide position.
It is swung into the box and Havertz’s shot is well blocked.
Lewis-Skelly follows up and tries to drill an effort from the edge of the box but, once again, it is blocked by the hosts.
They are certainly putting their bodies on the line for their team here.
60. Fleetwood are struggling to keep the ball at the moment.
It is not giving them a break at all in defence, as Arsenal keep probing, trying to find that second goal.
Plenty of time left for either side find a goal to win this game.
58. Meslier has not had a touch of the ball in this half.
It has been one-way traffic in the main since the interval.
Odegaard lifts an inventive pass through to Havertz but he puts his shot into the side netting of the goal.
Poor attempt from the German.
56. Couple of good chances for the visitors.
Firstly the ball drops to Havertz a couple of yards out, but it hits Bennett on the back on and goes over the bar.
From the resulting corner, Odegaard picks a pass to Lewis-Skelly, who looks to bend one in the far corner, but it is yards wide of the target as he fails to get his foot around it.
54. It is back to the drawing board for the hosts now.
The half-time team talk was probably all about protecting what they have.
If they want to guarantee their progess into the next round, they need to impose themselves as an attacking threat once again.
52. You will not be seeing that one in any goal of the month contest.
Not that it matters to Arsenal, they are back on level terms.
As a cross came in, it looked like Gyokeres was pulling the defender, the striker then having an air-swipe at the ball.
As he falls to the ground, his leg hits the ball again and it trickles into the back of the net almost like time stood still.
It has not taken long in this second half for Arsenal to strike and put themselves back in this game.
Gyokeres is the man who bundled it over the line, but what a moment for young Ceadach O’Neill.
The teenager is making his first-team debut and delivered the dangerous cross into the box that led to the goal.
That is moment he won’t forget.
He has been largely impressive from the off too, but struggled to find space on the congested left flank in the first half.
50. It actually looks like Arsenal are playing with a back three now.
They seem to be looking to throw caution to the wind to try and get this game won.
If Fleetwood can turn defence into attack well, the visitors are a bit short at the back as a result of these tactical changes.
48. Odegaard clips a pass into the box for Havertz to chase.
Lynch is quickly off his line to get there first.
Already it seems like the introduction of the Arsenal skipper is intended to try and take the team through the gears quicker.
46. Odegaard is for The Gunners.
He replaces Salmon, while White replaces Timber.
It looks like Zubimendi is dropping into central defence.
We are back underway at the Highbury Stadium.
The home fans have loved what they have seen so far.
Fleetwood get the match restarted.
Mikel Arteta is turning to his captain to change this game.
Martin Odegaard is out on the pitch warming up and looks set to come on for the second half.
His creativity has been sorely missed in the first 45 minutes and he could be exactly what Arsenal need.
Ben White is also coming on.
The siege mentality of Fleetwood in defence really has prevented Arsenal creating anything to test their keeper at all.
However, you would expect the Premier League outfit to be far fitter, which will show in the latter stages.
That means that the substitutions for the hosts could be key to them getting something from this game.
When they happen and who they are could be the difference between joy and disappointment.
In the other game of the Carabao Cup fourth round tonight, Bradford are beating Peterborough 1-0.
The Bantams took the lead 13 minutes in through defender Macaulay Gillesphey.
Well nobody expected to see that from Fleetwood this evening.
The football romantic in us would have dreamt of giant-killings but all too often the quality imbalance results in heavy defeat.
Now the hosts have something to protect but they may need to try and find another goal.
Mission accomplished for Fleetwood as the referee brings the first half to a close.
They hold onto their slender lead over the Premier League giants.
What a moment it could be if they can hang on to this one.
What a first 45 minutes that was for Fleetwood Town and their fans here at Highbury.
Arsenal, on the other hand, need a talking to from Mikel Arteta at half-time.
The Gunners have been so far below their usual standards and have struggled to create many clear-cut opportunities.
The champions are 45 minutes away from one of the worst results in their modern history.
Big changes needed.
45+6. Not long to go now for Fleetwood.
They have all their players camped being the ball again.
Dowman plays a dangerous ball into the back post but Timber’s volley was deflected wide for a corner.
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