League Two side Fleetwood Town have eliminated Premier League champions Arsenal from the EFL Cup after winning 5–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw at Highbury Stadium on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.
Fleetwood, who reached the fourth round for the first time in their history after beating Sheffield United 1–0 in the previous round, produced another historic performance to knock out the Gunners.
Aaron Loupalo-Bi gave the hosts the lead in the 21st minute, with Harry Neal credited with the assist, as Fleetwood went into half-time ahead. Arsenal responded five minutes into the second half when Viktor Gyökeres scored in the 50th minute to bring the Gunners level at 1–1.
The visitors dominated possession and created more chances, finishing with 78 per cent possession, 26 shots and seven attempts on target. Fleetwood recorded 22 per cent possession, three shots and two shots on target.
Arsenal’s Max Dowman was sent off in the 85th minute for unsporting conduct.
With the score still level after 90 minutes, the tie was decided by a penalty shootout.
Fleetwood converted all five of their attempts through Ryan Coughlan, Harry Neal, Will Davies, Alex Cannon and Conor Haughey. Arsenal scored their first three penalties through Martin Ødegaard, Kai Havertz and Gyökeres, but Bruno Guimarães missed their fourth attempt.
