Arsenal were knocked out of the 2026-27 Carabao Cup in the round of 16 after losing on penalties to Fleetwood. The tie finished level at 1-1 before Fleetwood won the shootout 5-3, and Max Dowman was sent off in the 85th minute. It was the sort of night that made Arsenal's rotation gamble look much riskier than it did on paper.
Arsenal's rotation gamble
Arsenal arrived with four wins in their last five matches in all competitions, and they are second in the Premier League with 21 points from 8 matches. Even so, the reshaped team never got comfortable enough to treat this like routine cup progress.
Mikel Arteta's side still found a way back into the tie. Viktor Gyökeres equalised in the 50th minute with his first goal of the season, after A. Loupalo-Bi had put Fleetwood ahead in the 21st minute.
Gyökeres and Ødegaard could not finish the job
Martin Ødegaard came on at half-time and changed the match for Arsenal, but the lift he gave them did not carry through to the shootout. Gyökeres has now scored once in the League Cup this season, while Ødegaard's League Cup rating stands at 6.59.
The decisive moments came after the 90 minutes had run out. Jay Lynch saved the penalty taken by Bruno Guimaraes, and Conor Haughey scored the decisive penalty to seal the upset. Arsenal had enough quality to drag the tie to penalties, but not enough control to stop Fleetwood's perfect finish when it counted.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
