Arsenal's Carabao Cup fourth-round tie at Fleetwood Town was halted for eight minutes after a drone appeared above Highbury Stadium, prompting the referee to take the players off the pitch.
Play was stopped just a minute into the match when officials noticed the drone overhead. For five minutes, the players kept warm by passing a ball among themselves while both teams looked puzzled by the situation.
Referee consults managers as play pauses
Referee Michael Salisbury walked to the touchline to speak with both managers before signalling that the players would have to leave the field. Boos rang out around the ground, but the players remained on the touchline rather than returning to the dressing rooms.
The drone then disappeared from view, and the officials were told that local authorities had identified who was responsible for flying it. That allowed the match to resume, with play getting back underway after an eight-minute delay.
Arteta rests key players
The pause followed a busy 24 hours for Mikel Arteta, who attended the Ballon d'Or ceremony on Monday night, where the event was delayed for 45 minutes due to traffic in central London. Gabriel, Bukayo Saka and David Raya were also at the London Palladium, but none are in the matchday squad against Fleetwood.
Arteta has taken the chance to rest several key first-team players, instead naming a starting lineup made up of fringe players and teenage talent. Max Dowman and Marli Salmon both start, while Ceadach O'Neill makes his senior debut on the left wing.
