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Fleetwood stun Arsenal as Dowman sees red

Fleetwood Town stunned Arsenal with a 5–3 penalty-shootout win after a 1–1 draw at Highbury Stadium, on a Carabao Cup night that had just about everything.

The League Two side booked their place in the quarter-finals as Conor Haughey converted the decisive spot-kick, sparking celebrations on the pitch. Arsenal finished the game with ten men after 16-year-old Max Dowman was shown a straight red card in the 85th minute.

Full-time: Fleetwood Town 1–1 Arsenal. Fleetwood won 5–3 on penalties.

A drone delay before the goals

The drama began before either side had scored, when a drone above Highbury Stadium forced play to stop. The referee took the players off the pitch before waving them back on, with Sky Sports reporting at half-time that the interruption had lasted eight minutes.

Read our earlier report on the Fleetwood v Arsenal drone stoppage for the footage and details of that interruption.

Aaron Loupalo-Bi put Fleetwood in front in the 21st minute, with Harrison Neal credited with the assist. It gave the home crowd a goal to celebrate after the early interruption and left Arsenal chasing the tie.

Arsenal went into the break behind, but Gyökeres brought them level in the 50th minute. His equaliser restored parity and kept the visitors in the cup tie, although they were unable to find a second goal.

Dowman sees red as Arteta reacts

Dowman’s sending-off in the 85th minute left Arsenal to complete the closing stages a player short. The 16-year-old’s departure became one of the biggest talking points of the night, with the score still level at 1–1.

With the score still 1–1, Arsenal had to see out the closing stages with ten men. Attention also turned to the touchline as Dowman made his way towards the tunnel.

Arteta appeared unhappy as Dowman walked past him after being shown a straight red card. Layth’s footage shows the teenager leaving the pitch, while a separate clip shared by @StokeyyG2 focuses on the exchange between the Arsenal manager and his player.

Their brief interaction prompted plenty of speculation online, but the footage does not establish exactly what Arteta said.

The dismissal remained a talking point after the match. Arteta also seemed angry during his post-match interview with Sky Sports, when he was asked whether the 16-year-old would learn from being shown a straight red card.

The Arsenal manager replied:

“We will all learn from this.”

Sky Sports’ studio panel were critical of Arteta’s reaction to the dismissal, adding to the discussion around how the Arsenal manager responded to the teenager’s red card.

Fleetwood hold their nerve in the shootout

On the pitch, the 1–1 draw meant penalties would decide who progressed. Fleetwood took their chance: Ronan Coughlan, Harrison Neal, Will Davies and Andy Cannon all scored their first four spot-kicks. Martin Ødegaard, Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyökeres kept Arsenal in touch before Bruno Guimarães missed the visitors’ fourth attempt.

That left Haughey with the opportunity to settle it. He took it, completing a perfect five from five for Fleetwood and sending the home supporters into celebration.

The clip below shows Guimarães’ miss, the moment that gave Fleetwood the chance to finish the shootout with their next kick.

Journalist Layth captured supporters pouring onto the pitch after Fleetwood’s victory:

The atmosphere had already caught supporters’ attention in the first half. This crowd video, shared while Fleetwood led, captured another side of the occasion:

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