Mikel Arteta's immediate reaction to Arsenal's shock defeat to Fleetwood has been revealed

Mikel Arteta handled Arsenal's Carabao Cup exit with considerably more composure than one of the most humiliating defeats in Pep Guardiola's Manchester City tenure. League Two Fleetwood shocked the Premier League champions, who had Max Dowman dismissed late on, on spot-kicks to progress to the quarter-finals following a 1-1 draw.

Bruno Guimaraes saw his penalty kept out by Jay Lynch before Fleetwood's Conor Haughey slotted home to trigger a pitch invasion as the Cod Army delivered one of the competition's most remarkable giant-killings.

While Arteta doesn't enjoy universal popularity amongst rival clubs and supporters, he demonstrated his dignity following the defeat, with triumphant Fleetwood manager Matt Lawlor praising the Spaniard's good grace.

Lawlor said: "He shook my hand two or three times and he was really, really gracious. I can imagine it's a really disappointing night for him.

"But the way that he acted there, with class, is amazing. I would love to catch up with him and pick his brains, but he's been really busy with media and all the emotions that come with it.

"We've not managed to cross paths, but he said well done in the tunnel briefly and how well we did, which is obviously a show of class from him."

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It was in stark contrast to his former mentor's behaviour during City's FA Cup elimination to League One Wigan in 2018, when Arteta formed part of Guardiola's backroom staff. After Fabian Delph's dismissal shortly before the interval, tempers flared, with Guardiola and Wigan manager Paul Cook confronting each other on the touchline.

The commotion spread to the tunnel area, where the BBC had positioned a camera that captured the managers shouting at one another before staff members pulled them apart. Wigan secured a 1-0 victory courtesy of Will Grigg's early strike.

It's important to note that this wasn't typical of Guardiola's conduct in a loss, which he usually took with dignity. However, it represented a marked contrast to Arteta's gracious response to the Fleetwood defeat.

The Gunners manager, who had selected a strong side, said: "That is why football is entertainment, especially in this competition and in this country, things like that.

"They believe in it and the people have it because of the history. We didn't want to go through this and we are extremely sad but we need to congratulate the opponent."