Fleetwood Town p1-1 Arsenal: Player ratings as dismal Gunners stunned by League Two hosts

Arsenal suffered one of the worst cup upsets of all time as they were knocked out on penalties by League Two side Fleetwood Town following a 1-1 draw.

Mikel Arteta made a number of changes for the clash with two notable additions being Ceadach O'Neill and Illan Meslier, who were both brought in for their first team debuts. Jurrien Timber was handed the captain's armband for the first time while Max Dowman and Marli Salmon were named in the lineup.

The game didn't have the best start as just after O'Neill had won a free kick in a promising position on the left flank less than three minutes in, the referee Michael Salisbury was forced to pause the tie due to a drone flying above the stadium.

Dowman resumed the play with the free kick almost 10 minutes after it was halted, and his delivery was met by Piero Hincapié, who headed well over the crossbar.

Fleetwood did well to keep the Gunners out and stunned the champions with the opener after 21 minutes when Salmon's loose header allowed the hosts to start an attack that ended in Aaron Loupalo-Bi beating Meslier with a well-taken effort.

Arsenal pushed to find an equaliser, but through a mix of poor decision-making and brilliant defensive work by the hosts, they could not find it and went into the break a goal behind.

Arteta opted to make two changes after half-time, introducing Martin Ødegaard and Ben White for Timber and Salmon, and the captain's arrival sparked his side into life as they equalised just minutes after the restart.

O'Neill sent a cross in from the left side that Gyökeres battled well for and managed to get a foot to it to poke past Jay Lynch and get his team on level terms.

Arsenal dominated practically the entirety of the play from that point, but they couldn't fire themselves in front and their situation went from bad to worse when Dowman was sent off with five minutes to play.

The youngster was well tackled by Andy Cannon to concede a throw and he subsequently kicked out at the Fleetwood midfielder, which led to him being given his marching orders.

Despite being a man down, the Gunners almost won the tie twice in stoppage time when White saw an effort at the back post saved on the goal line before Lynch prevented an effort from the edge by Ødegaard.

Arsenal survived pressure from Fleetwood in the closing minutes to take the game to a penalty shootout. The hosts stepped up to the spot first with Ronan Coughlan scoring before Ødegaard levelled matters from 12 yards.

Harrison Neal restored his side's advantage with a thumping effort past Meslier, but it was pegged back shortly after by Havertz. Will Davies made it three in a row for Fleetwood, only for Gyökeres to level.

Cannon calmly dispatched the Fishermen's fourth spot kick of the night ahead of disaster striking for the Gunners as Guimarães missed his penalty to hand the hosts the chance to win it. Conor Haughey then scored to send Fleetwood through to the next round.

Here are the Arsenal player ratings from their defeat to Fleetwood.

Fleetwood Town p1-1 Arsenal player ratings

Goalkeepers & Defenders

Illan Meslier (GK) - 4/10 - Probably should have done better for the opening goal as the shot went through his legs. Failed to save or even get near all of Fleetwood's penalties.

Jurrien Timber (RB) - 6.5/10 - Looked to get up the pitch and be involved in attack, being presented a number of chances in and around the box, but couldn't capitalise. Taken off at the break.

Marli Salmon (CB) - 5/10 - Lost possession with a loose header and then failed to hold off Loupalo-Bi for the opener. Was relatively steady other than that but the error defined his night as he was withdrawn at half-time.

Cristhian Mosquera (CB) - 7/10 - Dealt with Fleetwood's occasional attacks well and fans maybe would have hoped he was the one on Loupalo-Bi for the opening strike. A good return to the XI for the Spaniard.

Piero Hincapié (LB) - 5/10 - Guilty of giving the ball away sloppily at times, but was steady on the left side of defence otherwise.

Midfielders

Martín Zubimendi (CM) - 7.5/10 - A solid performance at the base with a number of positive touches and passes. Constantly quick to loose balls, both aerially and on the ground. Replaced in the late stages.

Myles Lewis-Skelly (CM) - 7/10 - Involved with plenty of touches and passes as he switched to and from the left flank in his midfield position to link up well with fellow Hale Ender O'Neill. Withdrawn for the closing minutes.

Kai Havertz (AM) - 3/10 - Spurned good chances with a header from a free kick and a volleyed effort where he made the wrong choice. Killed promising attacking moves with poor touches in and around the box. Scored his penalty.

Forwards

Max Dowman (RW) - 3/10 - Caused problems with his set piece deliveries, but was dealt with well from open play. Won some fouls in good areas. Wasn't his brightest performance. Sent off late on for kicking out after a foul.

Viktor Gyökeres (ST) - 5.5/10 - Finally got his first goal of the season when he poked past Lynch from O'Neill's cross. Unfortunately pretty absent other than his strike as he drifted in and out of the centre and wide spaces. Netted his penalty.

Ceadach O'Neill (LW) - 7/10 - Set Gyökeres up for the equaliser with a teasing cross in from the left flank. Looked really promising as he won fouls and put good deliveries in to the box ahead of being subbed with 25 minutes to play.

Substitutes

• Ben White (on 46' for Salmon) - 6.5/10
• Martin Ødegaard (on 46' for Timber) - 7/10
• Eberechi Eze (on 66' for O'Neill) - 5/10
• Bruno Guimarães (on 82' for Zubimendi) - 5/10
• Ezri Konsa (on 82' for Lewis-Skelly) - 6/10

Player of the match: Martín Zubimendi

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