Arsenal - Declan Rice
Arsenal - Declan Rice
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Arsenal made unwanted history on Tuesday night, becoming the first reigning Premier League champions to lose to a fourth-tier side in the Carabao Cup.
The Gunners were eliminated from the competition after League Two outfit Fleetwood Town claimed a 5-3 penalty shootout victory following a 1-1 draw at Highbury Stadium.
Aaron Loupalo-Bi put Fleetwood ahead in the 21st minute before Viktor Gyokeres equalised for Arsenal five minutes after the restart.
Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch also made crucial saves from Ben White and Martin Odegaard during normal time, helping the hosts take the tie to penalties.
Arsenal finished the match with 10 men after 16-year-old Max Dowman was sent off for violent conduct in the 85th minute. The red card followed a forceful challenge by Fleetwood’s Harrison Neal.
Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Gyokeres converted their penalties for Arsenal, but Bruno Guimaraes saw his effort saved by Lynch.
Fleetwood scored all five of their penalties, with teenage defender Conor Haughey converting the decisive kick to seal a memorable victory.
The defeat leaves Mikel Arteta facing a short turnaround ahead of Sunday’s Premier League trip to Liverpool, with the Arsenal manager also dealing with several fitness concerns.
Speaking after the Fleetwood defeat, Arteta confirmed that Declan Rice, Noni Madueke and Riccardo Calafiori were all unavailable for the Carabao Cup tie because of injury concerns.
Asked whether the trio had been rested and whether he regretted leaving them out, the Arsenal manager said: “No, Calafiori was out, Noni was out with an ankle, and Declan was feeling a problem the other day, which is why I had to substitute him.”
Rice was replaced by Martin Zubimendi in the 80th minute of Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Everton after appearing to hold his hamstring.
Rice has also dealt with lower back and hamstring problems since last Christmas, leaving his availability for Sunday’s trip to Anfield uncertain.
Madueke played the full 90 minutes against Everton but was not spotted in training on Monday.
Calafiori’s situation is less clear, with Arteta describing his problem as a “slight issue” after the Everton game. The Italian defender went straight down the tunnel at full-time.
Calafiori and Christos Tzolis are expected to return for the trip to Anfield on Sunday.
Arsenal are also without Bukayo Saka, who remains sidelined with the quad injury he sustained against Bayern Munich.
William Saliba is not expected to return before December.
Dowman will also miss Sunday’s game against Liverpool through suspension and is expected to sit out Arsenal’s fixtures against Hull City and Newcastle United after the international break.
Arsenal travel to Anfield on Sunday, November 1, with kick-off scheduled for 4:30pm UK time.