Arsenal faced embarrassment in the Carabao Cup after being knocked out by League One side Fleetwood on penalties, missing a spot in the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, the club Under-21 team managed a 2-1 win over AFC Wimbledon in the Jersey Mike Trophy.
The young squad fell behind when Callum Maycock broke the deadlock three minutes into the second half. Evan Mooney and Emerson Nwaneri turned the match around, sealing a comeback victory while the senior team struggled against League Two opponents.
Furious fans took to social media to criticize senior players Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz, who started the Carabao Cup fixture. One supporter wrote, "Luckily the U21s didn't have Havertz and Gyokeres." Another added, "This is gonna be peak banter material for rival fans." A third seething supporter chimed in, "That's actually mental. Proper mental." A fourth noted, "It's embarrassing to lose against a team from a much lower division." A fifth claimed, "This was a disgrace."
Manager Mikel Arteta faced a triple injury blow before the match with Declan Rice, Riccardo Calafiori, and Noni Madueke ruled out. However, World Cup winner Martin Zubimendi, Jurrien Timber, Gyokeres, Havertz, and Myles Lewis-Skelly featured in the starting line-up. Martin Odegaard and £75million summer signing Bruno Guimaraes, who missed the decisive penalty, came off the bench.
Gyokeres cancelled out Aaron Loupalo-Bi's opener before teenage sensation Max Dowman received a straight red card for kicking out at Harrison Neal, leaving Arteta raging. Fleetwood ultimately secured the win on spot-kicks following Guimaraes' costly miss.
