League Two side Fleetwood Town knocked Premier League champions Arsenal out of the Carabao Cup at Highbury, winning 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, in a match overshadowed by a red card for Arsenal teenager Max Dowman.
Dowman dismissed in fiery cup tie
Mikel Arteta was left furious with Dowman after the youngster was sent off late on Tuesday evening for kicking out during a challenge, which sparked a melee between the two sides. The dismissal was not the only incident in an entertaining cup tie, as the game was delayed by eight minutes due to a drone above the stadium.
When the football got underway, the hosts took the lead through Fulham loanee Aaron Loupalo-Bi. Arsenal hit back minutes into the second half through Viktor Gyokeres, with Dowman sent off shortly before the game headed to penalties. Bruno Guimaraes saw his spot-kick saved, with Fleetwood sealing a memorable win.
Hale End night to forget
Plenty of rotation was expected ahead of kick-off, with a number of academy graduates given the nod by Arteta, including Dowman, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ceadach O'Neill and Marli Salmon. Dowman carried the most threat and almost teed up Gyokeres for an opener, but the Hungarian striker could not stretch enough to get onto his cross. The youngster was also praised for his willingness to get back and defend in the closing stages.
However, his night was ruined after being dismissed for kicking out and triggering a mass brawl. Arteta was clearly furious with the teenager. It was also a less than inspiring night for defender Salmon, who arguably should have done better for the Fleetwood goal after being shaken off by Loupalo-Bi, who finished coolly. Salmon was then taken off at the break in favour of Ben White.
Gyokeres scores but struggles continue
The clash against a League Two side, albeit one in very good form, should have been the perfect game for Gyokeres to get his season up and running, having not scored in any of his opening ten appearances. It looked like being another poor evening for the Swede after struggling to impose himself on the game.
He scored, but even that was a scruffy effort as he swung a leg at the ball while falling over, just about getting enough on his effort to see it trickle over the line. Based on this performance, neither he nor attacking partner Kai Havertz have done enough to stake a claim to lead the line in the weekend's clash with Liverpool.
Arteta calls on big guns
Arteta will have hoped his side eased through without needing his more established first-team stars. But Arsenal's performance was so uninspiring that the Spanish coach immediately called for backup, with captain Martin Odegaard and Ben White introduced at the break.
Bruno Guimaraes and Eberechi Eze were also introduced after half time. The changes had an instant impact ahead of Gyokeres' equaliser, but Arsenal could not quite do enough to seal victory within 90 minutes. It was one of his big-hitters, Bruno Guimaraes, who missed to send Arsenal out of the cup.
