Mikel Arteta said he was left “sad” after Arsenal were dumped out of the League Cup on penalties by fourth-tier Fleetwood Town, one of the biggest cup upsets in the club’s history.
Despite fielding a heavily rotated side, the youngest starting XI named by the club in seven years, the Gunners were strong favourites to progress. Instead, they struggled to make their dominance count and were punished by their disciplined hosts.
“First of all, congratulations to Fleetwood for going through to the next round in the manner they’ve done it, the atmosphere they have created,” Arteta told Sky Sports.
“It’s a really sad day for us. I cannot fault at all the attitude of the players, I haven’t seen anybody not doing what is required at this level.
“We insisted so much, we have so much of the ball, so many chances, so many shots, and if you want the margins to be bigger than going to the penalties, obviously you need to capitalise on that. And we didn’t, and football is about that.”
After a lengthy delay at the start of the game caused by a drone above the pitch, Fulham loanee Aaron Loupalo-Bi took advantage of poor defending from Marli Salmon to put Fleetwood ahead in the 21st minute. Surprisingly, the home side had little trouble protecting that lead until half-time as the Gunners huffed and puffed in the seaside cold.
Viktor Gyokeres bundled home an equaliser five minutes after the break, giving Arsenal a platform to build on. Even with Martin Odegaard on to help pick a way through, though, their probing produced little of note.
Late on, Fleetwood were given a helping hand by the referee, who showed a harsh straight red card to Max Dowman after he reacted badly to a late challenge. Arteta mouthed angry words at the teenager as he trudged off, later telling BBC Sport it was “something that we discussed already before the match.”
A combination of poor finishing, including 19 shots off target, pure luck and a couple of decent late saves by keeper Jay Lynch helped Fleetwood hold out for penalties. At that point, the 84 places separating the sides on the English football ladder no longer counted for much.
The teams traded eight well-taken kicks before Bruno Guimaraes’ effort, preceded by a stuttering run-up, was saved. That left Conor Haughey to send Fleetwood into the next round. Once again, Arsenal’s numbers hadn’t come up in the shootout lottery.
On cup football being a leveller, Arteta said: “It is, and especially when they go ahead, and they create that momentum. But we gave them almost nothing in the whole game, and we created so many chances, and didn’t capitalise on that.
“And then the margins become so small; that’s it. This is football, that’s the beauty as well of this competition, and especially in this country. It’s a very sad day.”
He also insisted he had no complaints about his players’ attitude, although we suspect there may be a few different opinions shared behind closed doors.
“Attitude-wise, I have zero \[issues\]; otherwise, I would be here absolutely fuming. I’m sad; I think we are all sad. We have a massive responsibility to carry this badge in the best possible way.
“It was nothing to do with effort or application or determination to win it, but we lack other things to create a much bigger margin than today with what we produced. It should have been shown in the scoreline.”
The League Cup may not have been the priority this season, but that won’t make the manner of the exit any less irritating. It was also a chance for players short of minutes to make a case for themselves. On this evidence, a few may have to wait a little longer for their next opportunity.