Fleetwood stun Arsenal on penalties as Dowman sees red

Arsenal's Carabao Cup defence ended in stunning fashion as League Two side Fleetwood Town beat them 5-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the fourth round, according to Sky Sports Football.

Aaron Loupalo-Bi put the hosts ahead in the first half at Highbury before Viktor Gyokeres levelled for Arsenal after the interval, Yahoo Sports reported.

Mikel Arteta made nine changes to his starting line-up for the tie but withdrew Martin Odegaard from the bench at half-time after what Yahoo Sports described as a ragged opening period.

The Norway captain's introduction brought an improved showing, though Arsenal squandered several chances before the match went to penalties.

In the shoot-out, Bruno Guimaraes saw his effort saved by Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch, and teenage defender Conor Haughey converted the winning penalty to complete the upset.

Arsenal, beaten finalists last season, were reduced to ten men five minutes from the end of normal time when 16-year-old forward Max Dowman was sent off for kicking out at Fleetwood's Harrison Neal.

Guardian Sport's Ed Aarons noted that Dowman, at 16 years and 300 days, became the youngest player ever sent off in a League Cup match, and wrote that the dismissal may have been harsh given the heavy challenge from Neal that preceded it.

Arteta's response as Dowman left the pitch drew attention in its own right. The Guardian described the manager folding his arms and delivering what it called a few choice words as the youngster trudged towards the tunnel, prompting speculation among lip-readers on social media, though the exact content of the exchange was not confirmed.

Arteta himself offered little when asked what he had said to Dowman, telling reporters only that it was "something that we discussed already before the match," as relayed by Yahoo Sports.

British media reports cited by Yahoo Sports said Arsenal intend to appeal the red card to the Football Association, with the club hopeful of a ruling before this weekend's Premier League fixture at Anfield.

Odegaard was blunt in his assessment of the overall performance. "It's very frustrating to go out," he said. "Obviously, the way we've played was not on the level. We need to do much, much better than we did."

He added: "Frustrating, but congratulations to Fleetwood and we look forward to the next game already and bounce back."

The captain acknowledged the scale of the mismatch on paper between the two clubs, who sit 84 places apart in the English football pyramid, while insisting the margin owed more to Arsenal's own shortcomings. "They did well so we have to give them credit, but... we need to do better. I thought we improved during the game, but again, we need to step up even more -- so that's a shame," he said.

With a Premier League trip to Liverpool looming on Sunday, Odegaard was clear that there was no time to dwell on the cup exit. "We can't feel sorry for ourselves. We need to move on -- we have a big game at the weekend, so bouncing back at the weekend is all we can do now," he said.

The timing adds further weight to that fixture. Arsenal had drawn level on points with Premier League leaders Manchester City going into the weekend, meaning any lingering effect from the Fleetwood defeat would arrive at an awkward moment in the title race.

Arsenal's immediate priority now is Anfield, where the outcome of their appeal over Dowman's red card could be known before kick-off.