Arsenal's fourth-round exit ended 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Fleetwood's Highbury Stadium. Aaron Loupalo-Bi put the League Two side ahead in the 21st minute, Viktor Gyokeres equalised after the break, and teenager Max Dowman was sent off for violent conduct in the 85th minute.

Jay Lynch saved Bruno Guimaraes's spot kick and Conor Haughey converted the decisive penalty, sending a squad Arteta had made nine changes to reduce spinning out of the cup in one of the competition's great upsets.

He congratulated Fleetwood but insisted the failure was about Arsenal not being at their standard, and stressed the squad must clear the disappointment from its system before Sunday's visit to Anfield to keep pace at the top of the Premier League after drawing level with Manchester City.

Mikel Arteta called it "a very sad day," saying there was "nothing to criticise the players for their attitude" but that Arsenal failed to capitalise on their chances: "You don't capitalise, then you cannot go through to the next round."

The send-off of 16-year-old Max Dowman for kicking out toward Harrison Neal became a flashpoint — per NewsCord's aggregation, Paul Merson criticised Arteta's reaction to the youngster, asking why the manager would not do the same to an experienced international like Viktor Gyokeres.

Arteta said only that it was "something that we discussed before the game" and declined to elaborate.

The result carries rare historical weight. Per Sports Mole, it was only the second time a top-flight champion had been knocked out of the EFL Cup by a fourth-tier side, after Chester City beat Leeds United 3-0 in 1974, and it marked Fleetwood's first-ever quarter-final in the competition.

Fleetwood sit 84 places below Arsenal in the pyramid — per The Daily Gazette, the club squads' valuations differ by roughly $1.6 billion to $3 million.

The parallel with Grimsby's 2025 shootout win over Manchester United loomed large; goalkeeper Jay Lynch said Fleetwood "took heart from Grimsby beating Manchester United last season, it felt comparable."

Manager Matt Lawlor, less than a year into his first senior job after taking over on an interim basis in January, was visibly emotional as fans invaded the pitch.

"I just can't believe it. The biggest night in the club's history in terms of opposition coming to town and we've managed to beat the champions," he told reporters, describing a game plan built to deny space rather than outplay the country's best team.

The Daily Gazette notes the club sold out its 5,300-capacity Highbury Stadium for the first time in more than a decade, with the town of around 26,000 — better known for Fisherman's Friend lozenges — celebrating a result that outweighs anything in its recent history.

Arsenal turn immediately to a major Premier League test at Liverpool on Sunday, needing to convert their disappointment into momentum at the top of the table.

The quarter-final draw takes place on Wednesday after Liverpool v Chelsea, with the last-eight ties scheduled for the week starting 14 December — meaning the fourth-tier minnows will soon learn which giants, if any, stand between them and an even bigger night.