We exited the Carabao Cup fourth round after losing 5-3 on penalties to Fleetwood Town at Highbury Stadium.

Aaron Luopalo-Bi gave the League Two side a shock lead after 21 minutes before Viktor Gyokeres levelled early in the second half.

We had plenty of chances to win in normal time, as referee Michael Salisbury sent off Max Dowman late on before the game went to spot kicks.

Both sides remained perfect until Bruno Guimaraes missed his spot kick, which gave Conor Haughey the chance to win the match and send the League Two side through to the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.

FISHERMEN MAKE EARLY CATCH

Play stopped after just 93 seconds due to drone interference, causing an almost eight-minute disruption. When the match restarted, we had the opening chance as Piero Hincapie headed over Dowman's free-kick.

The free-kick taker almost turned goalscorer as Marli Salmon's through ball deflected through to the winger, who found himself one-on-one with Jay Lynch but dragged his shot wide.

But down the other end, the deadlock was broken by our hosts. Harrison Neal's ball through the midfield found Aaron Loupalo-Bi, who outmuscled Salmon before finishing low between Illan Meslier's legs to give the League Two side the lead.

It took a while for us to respond to the shock of falling behind. Viktor Gyokeres' shot from range after 29 minutes was the first on target for the visitors.

Chances were proving hard to come by, but it was Dowman who was at the heart of our creativity. A whipped cross found the head of Kai Havertz, who could only plant his effort into The Memorial Stand.

With seven minutes of stoppage time to play, we looked to finish the half strongly. Jurrien Timber headed over the bar from another Dowman cross the best we produced before the break.

FORCING THE ISSUE

The second half brought two changes from Mikel Arteta as he introduced skipper Martin Odegaard and right-back Ben White for Timber and Salmon.

The changes brought more energy and we found a way back into the game through Gyokeres.

A dangerous ball from debutant Ceadach O'Neill caused confusion in the box, and the Swedish forward was able to flick his shot past Lynch and into the net.

Chances were starting to flow for the Gunners, and we almost took the lead. A wonderful touch from Dowman allowed the teenager to fire a cross into the box, where it fell kindly for Havertz, whose effort was pawed over the bar by Lynch. 

From the resulting corner, a well-constructed move saw us find Myles Lewis-Skelly in space, but the midfielder curled just wide. Odegaard was pulling the strings and his dink through ball found Havertz, only for the German to hit the side netting.

As we edged into the last 25 minutes of the match, another was passed up. A neat through ball from Odegaard fed Havertz, who squared to Lewis-Skelly, but he fired wide from close range.

LATE DRAMA

The game drifted into the final 10 minutes with both teams looking for the winner before the match was forced to penalties.

Meslier denied substitute Ronan Coughlan before a flashpoint saw Dowman sent off. A reckless tackle from Neal saw Dowman respond and in the following scuffle, referee Michael Salisbury produced a red card for the youngster.

As the board went up for five minutes of stoppage time, Eberechi Eze rolled the ball across the box and found Ben White at the back post, but his effort was kept out by Lynch on the line.

That proved to be our final chance as we couldn't find a way through the League Two side, meaning the game would be settled by spot kicks.

PENALTIES

With spotkicks being taken in front of the Fleetwood faithful, both sides burried their first three penalties each.

Odegaard, Havertz and Gyokeres netting for the Gunners, with Neal, Coughlan, and Will Davies finding the net for the hosts.

Andy Cannon then put Fleetwood in front, but Bruno Guimaraes' effort was saved by Lynch low to his left.

That gave Conor Haughey the chance to win it, and he despatched his effort into the top corner to give Fleetwood a historic victory.

Full shootout:

WHAT'S NEXT

Following our trip to Fleetwood, we are back in Premier League action, taking on Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, November 1 at 4.30pm. We then play our third away match in a row, heading to Slavia Prague in the UEFA Champions League.