English Premier League champions, Arsenal, have been dumped out of the Carabao Cup following a 5-3 loss on penalties to Fleetwood Town.

The Gunners who finished the match with ten men had been held to a 1-1 draw at full time in the fourth round fixture.

Arsenal lost to the lowest-ranked team left in the competition, suffering arguably the biggest shock of the Carabao Cup with the poor outing and shock loss.

Aaron Loupalo-Bi scored the opener for the hosts but Viktor Gyokores equalizer restored parity before the home side forced penalties.

Arsenal made wholesome changes but went behind on 21 minutes despite fielding players of Premier League pedigree. Loupalo-Bi preyed on one of the youngsters fielded by Mikel Arteta, outmuscling the youngster before slotting the ball into the net for 1-0.

Gyokores restored parity on 50 minutes with a scrappy goal, but the London club could not take the lead thereafter and were reduced to 10 players when Max Dowman was sent off for retaliation.

Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch made two saves in added time to ensure the match was decided on penalties.
Lynch then produced the only save of the penalties, keeping out Bruno Guimaraes’ attempt before Conor Haughey slotted home the winning kick.

Defeat is Arsenal’s first against Fleetwood Town, and is the earliest an Arteta-coached Arsenal will exit the Carabao Cup. Fleetwood Town however reach the quarter-finals for the first time in the club’s history.