This has not been a week many London clubs – including West Ham United – will look back on with much fondness.

The Hammers were beaten by Southampton, Crystal Palace lost at home to Newcastle, Chelsea suffered the ignominy of a rare SW6 defeat by Spurs, and Arsenal suffered arguably their most humiliating reverse of the Mikel Arteta era.

West Ham United are already out of the competition, albeit in less embarrassing circumstances. On the night in which Pablo Felipe finally scored his first Hammers goal, Fulham’s Premier League quality was the difference at the London Stadium.

For Arsenal, there was an alarming absence of Premier League quality as fourth-tier Fleetwood dragged an elite boxer down to their level and beat them in a brawl.

West Ham United stat does the rounds after Arsenal’s EFL Cup exit at Fleetwood Town

Arsenal lose at Highbury. We haven’t heard that in a while. In fact, according to tongue-in-cheek football writer John Brewin, this was ‘Arsenal’s first defeat at Highbury since West Ham in February 2006’.

Fleetwood’s stadium, if you hadn’t guessed by now, shares its name with The Gunners’ old ground.

You remember the day. Bobby Zamora terrorised Sol Campbell and Alan Pardew masterminded a 3-2 win over Arsene Wenger. Arsenal would leave their beloved Highbury for the shiny new Emirates Stadium a few months later, with that West Ham reverse their last in their old home.

Of course, Zamora would follow Arsenal to the Emirates and haunt them there too. An iconic lob, a remarkable 1-0 triumph, and West Ham took one giant step closer to survival in 2007.

How Mikel Arteta’s modern-day Gunners could have done with a moment of divine inspiration like that on an evening where Fleetwood fully deserved their eventual penalty shoot-out victory.