Fleetwood, 18th in League Two, won the shoot-out 5-3 after a 1-1 draw with the Premier League champions.
Max Dowman, Arsenal's 16-year-old winger, was sent off late on as the Premier League champions went out of the Carabao Cup to League Two side Fleetwood Town on penalties. The tie finished 1-1 after normal time, and Fleetwood won the shoot-out 5-3 on Tuesday night.
Fleetwood went ahead in the 21st minute. Fulham loanee Aaron Loupalo-Bi outmuscled 17-year-old Marli Salmon and scored. Viktor Gyokeres levelled in the 50th minute, his first goal of the season, after Martin Odegaard came on at half-time. Arsenal kept pushing after that but could not find a winner.
With five minutes remaining, Dowman received his marching orders. Sky Sports said he was shown the card for allegedly kicking out at Harrison Neal, and Andy Hinchcliffe called the decision "really harsh" on Sky Sports commentary. BBC Sport said he did not fully kick out, but he moved his leg towards Neal, which gave referee Michael Salisbury a decision to make. It was his second red card this month, after he was also sent off for England U19s in the last international break. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta spoke to him as he walked down the tunnel, and later said the words were "something that we discussed already before the match".
Jay Lynch, the Fleetwood goalkeeper, had already kept out Ben White and Martin Odegaard late on. In the shoot-out he saved Bruno Guimarães' penalty, and Conor Haughey scored the decisive kick. Fleetwood manager Matt Lawlor told Sky Sports his side had not practised penalties:
"I'm going to be honest, we haven't practised once. I'm not going to blag that we had some meticulous penalties, we haven't."
Haughey, asked what was going through his mind, told Sky Sports: "I don't know -- just pick my spot and put it in! Top corner and then just run."
Arteta said: "A really sad day for us." He added: "I cannot fault at all the attitude of the players." He said Arsenal had so much of the ball and so many chances, but did not take them, and that "We didn't and football is about that."
Fleetwood reach the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time. ESPN reported that this marks the first occasion on which the holders of the Premier League title have been eliminated from the League Cup by a side from the fourth tier. Arsenal have not won the League Cup for 33 years, according to BBC Sport. Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson said on Sky Sports: "They'll be in history now for the biggest shock in the history of the League Cup." Lynch said the Fleetwood players had taken inspiration from Grimsby Town beating Manchester United in last season's competition: "We looked at Grimsby beating Man United last year."
Arsenal's options on the wing look thin. Bukayo Saka is out for around six weeks, Christos Tzolis is working to return, and Noni Madueke was unavailable with an injury. Dowman is now suspended, and Arsenal's options in the wide areas for the match with Liverpool on Sunday look slim.
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