I’ll leave you with Will Unwin’s report from Highbury, where it won’t be a quiet night at the library. Thanks for joining me. Night!
Related: Fantastic Fleetwood seal shootout success in Carabao Cup shock against Arsenal
Next up for Arsenal: another tricky trip to the northwest, this time to Anfield, where Liverpool await. Then it’s back to the Champions League, against Slavia Prague. As for Fleetwood, it’s Bristol Rovers on Saturday, then Rochdale in the FA Cup.
Well, that was a strange interview. I can understand Arteta not wanting to go nuclear – Arsenal could easily have nicked a late winner, and this defeat isn’t going to make or break their season. Still, I’m not sure Fleetwood were tremendously lucky to take the game to penalties, and Arsenal having more chances is surely the bare minimum their manager should expect.
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On the Dowman red card, Arteta says he will “watch it back properly and assess the situation”. Will he learn from this? “We all learn from everything, yeah.”
He says there was “no problem with attitude” in his team: “if there was, I’d be out here, absolutely fuming.” He says he feels sad, rather than angry, because his team did enough to win the game.
Here’s Mikel Arteta: “First of all, I congratulate Fleetwood for getting through. I cannot fault the effort of the players, we had so many chances, so many shots … it shouldn’t have come down to penalties.”
“They went ahead, [but] we gave them almost nothing all game, didn’t capitalise on the chances we had and then it comes down to such small margins … that’s the beauty of football, [but] it’s a very sad day.”
“The football cods are smiling down on Fleetwood,” says Peter Oh. Ian Sargeant adds: So much for West Ham being the last team to beat Arsenal at Highbury.”
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More from Matt Lawlor: any plans for the rest of the evening? “We’ve got the day off … we’ll leave the cars parked at the training ground!” Who do they want next? “Another big tie will help, for a club in our position … is it the quarter-finals next? I don’t even know!”
What a great interview. He clearly prepared in great detail for this game, but never dreamed his team could actually win. I sense Arteta may not be quite so jovial.
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Here’s Matt Lawlor, the Fleetwood manager. “I’ve just told the players to enjoy it, but we’ve got a game on Saturday,” he chuckles. “I didn’t want to tell them!”
“We’re not stupid enough to think we’re going to outplay the best team in the country. We just tried to deny them space, deny them opportunities. I’m so glad the lads put that performance in – they’ve made everyone in the town so proud.”
Were they prepared for penalties? “We haven’t practiced once!” Lawlor admits. “A 19-year-old centre-back took the last one, and buried it! We were deep, in a low block … I forgot we were going straight to penalties, I was worried about extra time!”
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Some dates for your diary, Fleetwood fans. The quarter-final draw takes place on Wednesday, after Liverpool v Chelsea. The last-eight ties will take place in the week starting 14 December; the Cods and Bradford City will be the only non-Premier League teams in the draw.
“The star of the show was clearly the little girl with a giant sparkly hat and a Fleetwood scarf on her dad’s shoulders to the right of the goal, where the penalty kicks were taken,” writes Kari Tulinius. “What a night she’s having! She’ll remember that for the rest of her life.”
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Jay Lynch talks to Sky! “My voice has gone! The whole team was magnificent, every one of them. We took heart from Grimsby beating Manchester United last season, it felt comparable. It means so much to the whole town.”
Conor Haughey is asked to describe his winning spot-kick. In a broad Ulster accent, he says: “I smashed it in and then ran like fuck.” Lovely stuff.
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Fans pour onto the pitch as Fleetwood players run to embrace their kids on the touchline. The Captain Pugwash theme blares from the PA. The manager, Matt Lawlor, has tears in his eyes – he can’t believe what he’s just seen. Neither can I.
Fleetwood are into the quarter-finals, beating a team 84 places above them in the pyramid – and in reality, the gulf is even bigger than that. Cup football, eh? They’ve tried to kill it, but the magic will never die.
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Fleetwood win 5-3 on penalties!
It’s centre-back Conor Haughey who steps up … and smashes it into the top corner. Fleetwood, 18th in League Two, have dumped Arsenal out of the Carabao Cup!
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LYNCH SAVES GUIMARAES’ PENALTY!
Fleetwood 4-3 Arsenal: Lynch gets down to palm away Bruno Guimaraes’ poor effort, and Fleetwood might just have done this …
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Cannon scores! Fleetwood 4-3 Arsenal
Of course he does. Seven clinical penalties dispatched so far …
Gyokeres scores! Fleetwood 3-3 Arsenal
Straightforward stuff from Gyokeres, who blooters it into the top corner.
Davies scores! Fleetwood 3-2 Arsenal
The breeze whips up, nudging the ball off the spot – but Will Davies is unfazed, whipping the ball in the opposite direction as Meslier dives to his left.
Havertz scores! Fleetwood 2-2 Arsenal
Kai Havertz, waster of many chances tonight, sends Lynch the wrong way to level things up.
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Neal scores! Fleetwood 2-1 Arsenal
Perhaps Fleetwood’s best player on the night, Harrison Neal steps up … and belts it into the roof of the net!
Odegaard scores! Fleetwood 1-1 Arsenal
Right in the corner, beyond Lynch’s despairing dive.
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Penalty shootout
Fleetwood 1-0 Arsenal: Coughlan strokes the ball into the corner to open the shootout, with Meslier going the wrong way.
Here we go, then. Because of Dowman’s red card, one Fleetwood player has to sit this out – it’s Jake Batty who draws the short (or long?) straw.
Full time! Fleetwood 1-1 Arsenal
Fasten your seatbelts – we’re going to penalties.
94 mins: At the other end, Rooney’s cross is shanked into the air by Ben White, and Meslier can’t keep it in play. Corner … headed away by Konsa at the near post.
93 mins: Eze miscontrols the ball but is then brought down, and Arsenal have a free kick. It’s worked to Guimaraes, who floats the ball … straight into Lynch’s gloves.
92 mins: Another chance! Eze gets another chance to whip the ball in and find Havertz, whose downward header spins wide of goal!
91 mins: Another save from Lynch, this time tipping Odegaard’s swerving effort away. Havertz appealed for a penalty, and there’s another shout for handball as Eze’s cross hits Haughey.
90 mins: Huge save! It looks like Arsenal have got out of jail here, with Ben White unmarked and shooting on goal from eight yards out … but Lynch repels it at his near post!
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88 mins: Andy Cannon was also booked in that skirmish, while Mikel Arteta did not look remotely impressed with Dowman as he trudged off, offering only a frosty word or two in the teenager’s direction.
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Max Dowman sent off for Arsenal!
There’s a scuffle between Dowman and Neal near the halfway line, and the Arsenal youngster appears to strike out after a hefty challenge. There’s an almighty melee before Michael Salisbury intervenes … and sends Max Dowman off! It looks harsh on first view, but Arsenal will have to see this out with 10 men.
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83 mins: Oof! Andy Cannon can see the headlines, but his header is blocked by Meslier and from the rebound, the keeper is down quickly to block Will Davies’ shot from a tight angle.
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82 mins: For Arsenal, Bruno Guimaraes and Ezri Konsa replace Zubimendi and Lewis-Skelly. Will Davies is on for Fleetwood, in place of goalscorer Loupalo-Bi.
81 mins: Eze fires an aimless effort into a wall of red shirts, then is flagged offside when the ball comes back to him. Some more changes coming up …
79 mins: A sniff of a half-chance for Loupalo-Bi as he breaks into the Arsenal half, but Mosquera shakes him off the ball before Coughlan can catch up.
FT: Bradford 2-0 Peterborough The League One promotion-chasers are into the quarter-final draw. Can Fleetwood join them? Ten-odd minutes to go …
76 mins: It’s full attack-v-defence now, but Ben White releases the pressure by wandering offside. Behind the Fleetwood goal, we can see a solitary lad watching from his bedroom window.
74 mins: Odegaard’s delivery is half-dealt with, before Havertz crunches a cross into the side netting.
73 mins: It’s time! Andy Cannon is on, replacing Mark Helm. There’s a free kick to deal with before any heroics, with Batty booked for hauling Dowman down.
72 mins: It’s played short and Dowman goes for goal, but his effort from 18 yards is held by Lynch at the near post.
71 mins: The Fleetwood fans are still in fine voice, with chants for Rooney, Coughlin and “boring, boring Arsenal” – who have won a corner after Lewis-Skelly’s shot was blocked.
70 mins: Arsenal deal with the corner when Batty steps offside, but the clock keeps ticking, and penalties are now just over 20 minutes away.
68 mins: Coughlan has been in decent goalscoring form and makes his presence felt straight away, jostling the Arsenal centre-backs and earning a throw-in. There’s also a bit of afters between the towering Shaun Rooney and Odegaard, who does a good job of not looking scared.
66 mins: And a change for Arsenal, with Eberechi Eze replacing O’Neill, who set up the equaliser as part of a very promising performance.
65 mins: Ched Evans and Crispin McLean are going off, replaced by two Irish players – striker Ronan Coughlan and midfielder Adam Murphy.
64 mins: After a dizzying spell of quick passing, Odegaard slots the ball through to Havertz, whose attempted cut-back to Lewis-Skelly is cleared away.
62 mins: Dowman fails to thread a ball through the red shirts in front of them, and is then penalised for bringing down goalscorer Loupalo-Bi.
“That goal exemplifies why Gyokeres is so important for us,” writes Chris Lambert. “Yes it was trash, but we haven’t had a player for decades who gets in the space to score that kind of goal.” Decades? How quickly we forgot Lord Bendtner.
60 mins: Dowman and Havertz almost link up inside the area, but Fleetwood clear upfield. Ched Evans is up against two defenders, though, and can’t hold the ball up for any length of time.
58 mins: It’s going to be a long final half-four for Fleetwood, now struggling to get out of their own half. Havertz finds space again, meeting Odegaard’s clever cross and rifling the ball into the side netting.
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55 mins: Lynch parries Dowman’s cross into the path of Havertz, who has the goal at his mercy – but his shot clips the top of Bennett’s dome, and flies over the bar. A brilliant, if possibly unintentional clearance.
52 mins: Fleetwood’s Crispin McLean is the first man in the book, and then blasts the ball downfield to nobody in particular as Arsenal turn the screw.
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The goal was created by Ceadach O’Neill, who collected Hincapie’s long pass and threaded a cross towards Gyokeres. He tussled with Potter and clipped the ball as he went over, nudging it beyond the wrong-footed Lynch to level things up.
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GOAL! Fleetwood Town 1-1 Arsenal (Gyokeres 49')
It’s about as scrappy a goal as you could imagine, but a very welcome one for Viktor Gyokeres, and for Arsenal.
Bradford 2-0 Peterborough: Adam Phillips finds the top corner, and the Bantams are closing in on the quarter-finals.
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Second half
Hincapie clears the ball away under pressure from Evans as we get back under way. I’m a little surprised that both Havertz and Gyokeres are still out there.
Arsenal changes: Ben White replaces Jurrien Timber, while captain Martin Ødegaard is on for Marli Salmon. A change of shape from Mikel Arteta, by the looks.
Half-time emails:
“Can I please register my total disgust that a lower league ground is hosting a top flight team in October on a grass pitch, and no one appears to have any mud on them. What are the fantastic grounds people at Fleetwood thinking?” – Nick Trim.
“Where has Kepa’s career meandered that he now finds himself on the bench in a game against Fleetwood? Is Meslier really a better keeper than him? Meslier always appeared to be super shaky at Leeds” – Tony Hughes.
“I can’t see Ceadach O’Neill emulating his Uncle Eoin’s antics in Windsor Park tonight. Not in this wind” – Justin Kavanagh.
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Half time: Fleetwood Town 1-0 Arsenal
The whistle blows and League Two’s Fleetwood lead the champions at half-time – and it’s hard to argue they don’t deserve it. Arsenal need to wake up.
52 mins: O’Neill delivers an excellent cross to Timber at the far post, but Batty gets his face between ball and goal. Arsenal corner, but it comes to nothing …
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50 mins: Dowman lifts a free kick into the area which nobody in navy blue can get a decisive touch on.
48 mins: Fleetwood’s long-throw taker, Jake Batty, races back to take the ball away from Gyokeres. The home crowd give their verdict on Arsenal’s performance so far, in the form of a sweary chant.
47 mins: From a Fleetwood throw, Lewis-Skelly and Salmon get mixed up and Meslier has to scurry out and clear it. The keeper is able to collect the next long throw with a degree of comfort.
46 mins: Seven minutes of first-half stoppage time, as we get our first look at Arsenal’s superstar subs shivering on the bench.
45 mins: Hincapie gets forward again and finds Dowman, but every Fleetwood player is back inside the penalty area, and there’s nowhere to go.
44 mins: Approaching stoppage time in the first half, but there will be a fair bit after the long drone stoppage.
42 mins: Hincapie curls in a tempting cross from the very corner of the penalty area – but it’s not tempting enough for Havertz or Gyokeres to get away from their markers.
It’s half-time in tonight’s other tie, with Bradford leading Peterborough 1-0 through Macaulay Gillesphey’s opener.
39 mins: Kai Havertz, who has had less screen time than that distant drone, meets Dowman’s cross with a header, but skews it over the bar.
38 mins: Lewis-Skelly finds Timber in the area and the ball ricochets to Dowman, whose cross has to be cleared away from danger.
37 mins: Fleetwood centre-back Shaun Rooney (no relation) is a big aerial threat – while at St Johnstone, he scored the winner in two Cup finals in the same season. He’s pushing forward whenever the hosts have a chance to get upfield.
36 mins: A spell of lukewarm Arsenal pressure is ended as Fleetwood get a free kick, allowing keeper Lynch to heave the ball clear.
34 mins: After a spell of Arsenal possession, O’Neill cuts inside and thwacks it towards the danger area, but Harrison Neal is in place to block it away.
33 mins: Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill is here, casting an eye over Fleetwood’s Conor Haughey and namesake Ceadach of Arsenal.
32 mins: Dowman prods the ball past Haughey but can’t keep it from rolling out for a goal kick.
I guess Marli Salmon heard Arteta’s ‘Give me a headache, give me a problem’ request,” honks Andrew Schultz.
31 mins: O’Neill takes the Arsenal corner and swings it towards Havertz, but Bennett is able to head away from danger.
29 mins: Gyokeres has a go from 20 yards that’s on target, but easy for Cods keeper Jay Lynch to get down and gather.
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27 mins: Arsenal are pushing forward but that inevitably leaves gaps in behind, and Evans is almost in the right place to latch on to a through ball.
24 mins: Arsenal can’t make anything happen with a scrappy bit of possession in the Fleetwood area, and then Hincapie hoofs a clearance into the car park. Safe to say Arteta’s side haven’t settled.
Marli Salmon won’t want to watch that back; he let Loupalo-Bi get beyond him and his attempted late tackle only pushed the ball further away, allowing the striker to drill it clinically past Meslier. Sweet Carabao!
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GOAL! Fleetwood Town 1-0 Arsenal (Loupalo-Bi 20')
Fourth-tier Fleetwood take the lead!! It’s Fulham loanee Aaron Loupalo-Bi with the opener, and Highbury goes wild!
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18 mins: A first opening for Arsenal on the break as Dowman crosses to Gyokeres, who can’t prod the ball home under pressure. And then …
“Good to see Ceadach O’Neill starting. His two uncles (Paddy & Eoin Bradley) were top class GAA players for Derry,” writes John Brennan. “Eoin was also a top player in the Irish League, winning a few cups along with getting a six-game ban for urinating in Windsor Park during a televised cup semi-final.” Well, that took a turn.
15 mins: THUNK! After nice buildup work from Dowman, Lewis-Skelly goes for a 50-50 with Rooney but the Fleetwood defender prevails, and the thud of the challenge could probably be heard in Blackpool.
14 mins: Another Fleetwood long throw aimed towards veteran forward Ched Evans, and mopped up by Meslier at the far post.
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12 mins: Fleetwood launch a long throw into the danger area, where it’s flicked on by Bennett – but Arsenal get it clear.
We're back under way
The drone has now disappeared, so the referee opts to restart. There are also murky reports of the culprit being apprehended by police. So, it’s back to the game, which will have at least eight minutes added to the first half.
“Who’s the wanker with the drone?” bellow the 5,000-strong home faithful, while the referee talks to Mikel Arteta, Matt Lawlor and various security staff. And now he’s waving the players back to the tunnel!
Drone delay!
Arsenal get upfield early on and have a free kick … but play is suspended as the referee, Michael Salisbury, peers up at a distant light in the sky. There’s a drone hovering over Highbury, and it’ll need to be dealt with somehow.
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On grounds with the same(ish) name, Tim Gutteridge writes: “I give you Liverpool (Anfield) and Stirling Albion who, until 1993, played their home games at Annfield (with an extra N).”
“The similarities don’t stop there. For much of their history, Stirling Albion played in an all-red strip. And between 1970 and 1973 they were managed by Bob Shankly, the older brother of Liverpool’s Bill.”
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First half
Arsenal kick off, in their navy away threads with red and yellow strip. Fleetwood’s home kit is an Arsenal-esque red number with white sleeves.
The players are out on the pitch, in a fug of firework smoke after some very rapid-fire pyro greeted their arrival. Peter Drury, never knowingly understated, is the Sky commentator and is already talking nights with the stars, marble halls and “two teams galaxies apart”. Let’s go!
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“I like to root for the underdog, so fingers crossed the Fishermen of the Cod Army will catch a really big one today!” cheers Peter Oh. It may interest you, Peter, that Fleetwood have a sub called Andy Cannon – surely destined to come on and sink the Gunners.
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“‘Arsenal have paid us a lot of respect by naming such a strong team’?Not sure why Matt Lawlor’s being so polite, Arteta’s taking the proverbial Michael with that side. Three kids and a goalie on debut?” writes Dave Estherby. To be fair, one of those kids is Max Dowman, and there are a few first-team regulars in there.
Here’s the Fleetwood head coach, Matt Lawlor: “We’ve had to make changes, with the champions in town. But we’ve got a plan with substitutions to manage the game. Arsenal have paid us a lot of respect by naming such a strong team … it’s a very difficult challenge, but one we should enjoy, and not be overawed.”
“I was just thinking, with the two Highburys – I can only think of the St James(’) Parks (Exeter and Newcastle), but are there any other grounds with very similar names?” asks Shaun T.
“It’s very special, coming to these kinds of grounds – it’s proper English football,” says Mikel Arteta. “In these kinds of conditions, you’re in or you’re out. It’s great to have Marli, Max and Ceadach with us, Ilhan Meslier as well who is making his first appearance for us.” His advice to those young Gunners? “Give me a headache, give me a problem – give me a reason to play you.”
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There is one other fourth-round Carabao Cup tie tonight, and it’s an all-League One affair. Bradford City, finalists in 2013, host Robbie Savage’s Peterborough – guaranteeing that at least one third-tier side will make the quarter-finals. Like the match at Highbury, it will go to penalties if still level after 90 minutes – and there’s no VAR.
So, Ilhan Meslier makes his debut in goal for Arsenal, with Christian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie starting as they return from injury; Martin Zubimendi also gets a run-out, while youngsters Max Dowman, Marli Salmon and Ceadach O’Neill all included in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI.
Team news
Fleetwood Town (3-5-2): Lynch, Haughey, Potter, Bennett; Rooney, Neal, McLean, Helm, Batty; Evans, Loupalo-Bi.
Subs: Pradic, Andrew, Cannon, Davies, Thomas, Murphy, Coughlan, Robertson, Cirino.
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Meslier; Timber, Mosquera, Salmon, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Lewis-Skelly; Dowman, Havertz, O’Neill; Gyokeres.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, White, Odegaard, Eze, Konsa, Guimaraes, Hashi, Washington, Harriman-Annous.
Referee: Michael Salisbury (Lancashire)
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To give everyone a flavour of conditions, it is blowing a gale around the rather quaint Highbury Stadium, almost blowing my laptop onto the pitch. Mikel Arteta will not be too worried about his players adapting to the conditions and will see a front pairing of Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyökeres as integral to killing this game off as soon as possible.
Fleetwood, however, are here to give the Gunners a bloody nose at the very least. They know how to utilise the conditions to their favour and will be straight into the faces of the Premier League champions. They may sit 18th in League Two, but they saw off Sheffield United in the last round and will fancy doing likewise in front of a packed ground.
Some sad news to bring you: Peter Dobing, the captain of Stoke’s 1972 League Cup winning side, has died at the age of 87.
Dobing made 377 appearances over a decade with the Potters and also played for Blackburn and Manchester City. He captained Stoke to glory as they beat Chelsea 2-1 to clinch their first (and only) major trophy, before his playing career was ended by injury just one year later.
Stoke said in a statement: “All at Stoke are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our ’72 League Cup-winning captain Peter Dobing at the age of 87. The thoughts and sincere condolences of all are with Peter’s friends and family at this immensely difficult time.”
Some essential pre-match reading here from Will Unwin, our man on the Fylde coast tonight.
Related: ‘The wind goes in all directions’: Fleetwood prepare wet welcome for Arsenal at Highbury
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Preamble
Some Arsenal fans spent years pining for one more game at Highbury Stadium; tonight, they finally get their wish. This particular Highbury is 250 miles northwest of Islington – the home of Fleetwood Town, a team the Gunners have never played before.
While their League Two form could hardly be less remarkable (18th place, with 14 points from 13 games), Fleetwood have picked off Chesterfield, Shrewsbury and second-tier Sheffield United in the Carabao Cup without conceding a goal, earning a last-16 glamour tie against the English champions.
With a trip to Anfield looming on Sunday, Mikel Arteta is expected to give his weariest stars a rest. Young talents like Marli Salmon, Ceadach O’Neill and, yes, Max Dowman are expected to start. They can expect testing conditions at a seaside ground where “the wind goes in all directions”.
Of course, even a depleted and under-experienced Arsenal side will be hot favourites to advance, but this has all the makings of a classic midweek Cup test. Kick-off: 8pm GMT.
