Arsenal’s Carabao Cup run ended in heartbreak at Highbury Stadium. The Arteta Fleetwood story is one of missed chances, a controversial red card and a penalty shootout that went the wrong way.
Fleetwood Town, a League Two side, won 5-3 on spot-kicks after a 1-1 draw. Mikel Arteta faced the media afterwards and gave his view on a night that stung.
Arteta Fleetwood Verdict: Credit to the Opposition
The Arsenal boss began with praise for the winners. He acknowledged the way Fleetwood played and the atmosphere they created in the fourth-round tie.
He had no complaints about his own players’ attitude or intensity. That held for the spell with 11 men and for the long stretch with 10.
Arteta still argued that his side’s superiority should have been decisive. In his words:
“First of all, congratulations to Fleetwood. In the manner they did it, the atmosphere they created. I have nothing to fault the players for their attitude and intensity throughout the game, with 11 and with 10, but when you are playing in that superior way, you have to give nothing to the opponent. When we create the volume of shots and chances we did, you have to score three, four or five. You capitalise on it.
If you don’t, there are no margins, and that’s the reality. Then you have to wait and get through the round on penalties, and we didn’t do that. The probability was low with the way the game was panning out, but it’s football and still with low probability, there is always a chance you could be out of the cup.”
How the Night Unfolded at Highbury Stadium
Arsenal fell behind in the first half. Aaron Luopalo-Bi scored for Fleetwood, and the goal gave the home side belief.
Arteta called it a “really poor goal” to concede. It changed the mood of the evening.
Martin Odegaard came on at half-time as Arsenal tried to turn the game around. The captain helped lift the visitors’ attacking play.
Viktor Gyokeres levelled the score. It was his first goal of the season.
The equaliser was not enough to win it. The match stayed at 1-1 through 90 minutes, and penalties decided the tie.
Red Card Leaves Arsenal With Ten Men
Max Dowman was sent off, and Arsenal had to play on with 10. Arteta said the incident was hard to judge from the available footage.
He said he had not seen it back. He accepted the referee’s decision and pointed to what his team did afterwards.
“I haven’t seen it back, and with the camera you can’t really see what happens. The decision was made by the referee, and that’s it. Even with 10 men, we had three big chances to score.”
Arteta was asked whether Dowman’s talent could make him a target for opponents. His answer centred on preparation.
“We know when we prepare the context of the match, we’re very clear on what to expect. Emotionally, we have to dominate, but we’re very clear.”
Asked what he said to Dowman on the touchline, Arteta kept it brief. “It’s something that we discussed before the game.”
He was also asked about earlier conversations with the player over being fouled regularly. He declined to go into it. “We’re not going to discuss that here and now.”
Arteta on Taking the Defeat on the Chin
The manager did not hide his disappointment. He called it a really sad day and said the team’s effort was not the problem.
He praised the players’ application and determination, then pointed to the chances that went begging. The early goal gave Fleetwood belief, and Arsenal could not recover from it.
“There’s nothing to criticise the players for in terms of their attitude, their application, their determination to go and play the game that we had to play, but obviously we conceded that really poor goal to start with and gave them some belief.”
He described the volume of Arsenal’s attacking play and the clear-cut chances they failed to convert.
“After that, we started to attack, have many chances, and the volume of balls that we had, shots and situations, clear-cut chances that we didn’t put away. If you don’t capitalise at this level, it’s the competition you are in and you are out, there are no margins for error.”
His message was clear. The team must accept the loss and move on.
“We need to take it now on the chin. We are out of the competition, we’re very sad for all the people as well here who came to watch the game – I wanted to give them the victory. Now we need to recover, and get ready for Anfield.”
The Magic of English Cup Football
Arteta also reflected on what makes domestic cup competitions special. He said the history of the competition shapes the belief people bring to it.
He admitted Arsenal never wanted to be on the wrong end of such a night. He still stressed the importance of respecting the opponent.
“This competition and football in this country is like this. The belief and conviction people have is because there is a history related to it. Unfortunately, we didn’t want to go through this – we are extremely sad – but at the same time, we need to congratulate the opponent.”
Injury Updates and Absentees
Arteta was asked whether any injuries or selection decisions caused regret. He said no and listed the players who were unavailable or affected.
Riccardo Calafiori was out. Noni was out with an ankle problem. Declan had felt a problem a few days earlier, which is why Arteta substituted him.
“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.”
Odegaard Admits Arsenal Fell Short
Odegaard was just as direct in his assessment. He said the team had not performed to the standard it expects of itself.
He said it was very frustrating to go out and that Arsenal must do much better. He also congratulated Fleetwood.
“It’s very frustrating to go out. Obviously, the way we’ve played was not on the level. We need to do much, much better than we did today.”
He added that the opposition deserved credit but that the focus stayed on Arsenal’s own standards.
“They did well so we have to give them credit, but I think today was about us not being on our level, we need to do better. I thought we improved during the game, but again, we need to step up even more – so that’s a shame.”
The captain said there was no time for self-pity with a major fixture coming.
“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We need to move on – we have a big game at the weekend, so bouncing back at the weekend is all we can do now.”
Thanks to the Travelling Support
Almost 1,000 Arsenal fans made the trip to the north west for the tie. Both Arteta and Odegaard thanked them.
Arteta said the supporters are always behind the team. After the game, they showed their appreciation to the players.
“They are always with us. That’s unquestionable, after the game they showed their appreciation to the team, and we’ll try to make them very happy against Liverpool.”
Odegaard also apologised for the result. “Massive thanks to them again for travelling – it’s a long journey – just thank you, and sorry for the result.”
What Comes Next: Liverpool at Anfield
There is little time to dwell on the loss. Arsenal now turn to a huge Premier League clash against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
It is the first of three straight away matches. The squad will need to recover quickly, and the manager has already made clear the mood in the camp.
The defeat hurts, but Arteta and his players know the next test is close. A response at Anfield would go a long way towards easing the pain of the Fleetwood exit.