League Two side end Arsenal’s run
Fleetwood Town are through to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. They drew 1-1 with Arsenal on Tuesday night, then won the shootout 4-3. A fourth-tier club has removed a Premier League giant, and the visitors only have themselves to blame.
Arsenal sent 19 shots off target. Kai Havertz alone missed three or four clear chances, according to Mikel Arteta. The manager did not hide his frustration afterwards, saying the result should have matched the performance, while admitting the team lacked something extra to build a bigger margin.
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Dowman sent off before the shootout
The flashpoint came right at the end of the tie. Max Dowman, 16, was shown a red card for violent conduct after allegedly lashing out at Fleetwood defender Harrison Neal. The pair had clashed in a couple of 50-50 challenges before a brawl broke out, moments before the penalties.
Cameras then caught Arteta leaning toward the teenager as he walked down the tunnel. Asked what he said, the Arsenal boss would only say it was something they had discussed before kickoff. On the red card itself, he said he had not seen it on camera and that the referee made the call. Sky Sports pundit Andy Hinchcliffe called the decision harsh. Arteta pointed out that his side still created three big chances with ten men.
Pundits split on Arteta’s reaction
Paul Merson was not impressed. He said he would have put an arm around Dowman, and questioned whether Arteta would treat an experienced international like Viktor Gyokeres the same way. “We all say things in life we wish we hadn’t,” Merson said. Jobi McAnuff called Dowman’s behaviour petulant and naive, but described the youngster as potentially the future of Arsenal and felt Arteta did not get it quite right.
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