Fleetwood beat Arsenal on penalties in a remarkable EFL Cup upset, leaving Mikel Arteta to congratulate the League Two side after the tie at Highbury.
The home side took the lead before Arsenal responded, but neither team could find a winner during 90 minutes. Fleetwood then held their nerve in the shoot-out, producing a series of impressive spot-kicks to secure a famous victory over the English champions.
Arteta defends Arsenal players after Fleetwood defeat
Arteta was magnanimous after the result and praised Fleetwood while insisting he could not fault the attitude of his Arsenal players.
“Congrats to Fleetwood, it’s a sad day for us. But I cannot fault at all the attitude of the players. I haven’t seen anybody not doing what is required at this level,” the Arsenal manager told Sky Sports.
He acknowledged that Arsenal had dominated possession and created opportunities, but accepted that the outcome was part of the unpredictability of football.
“But we insisted so much, we had so much of the ball, so many chances, so many shots. This is football,” Arteta said.
The defeat came with Arsenal fielding a rotated team, but Fleetwood’s victory will go down as one of the biggest upsets in Carabao Cup history. For the League Two club, it was a memorable night; for Arteta and Arsenal, it was a painful early exit.
