In a Carabao Cup fourth-round tie that had everything except a decisive goal, Fleetwood Town and Arsenal played out a draw that will be settled by penalties. The match, played at Fleetwood's Highbury Stadium, saw the League Two side take a surprise lead before Arsenal equalized through Viktor Gyokeres' scrappy effort. The game also featured a red card for Arsenal's Max Dowman, a drone stoppage, and a series of near-misses that left fans on the edge of their seats.

The first half ended with Fleetwood leading 1-0, thanks to a goal that was described as "about as scrappy as you could imagine." Ceadach O'Neill collected Hincapie's long pass and threaded a cross towards Gyokeres, who tussled with Potter and clipped the ball beyond the wrong-footed Lynch. It was a welcome goal for Gyokeres and Arsenal, who had been largely outplayed by the hosts. Fleetwood's lead was no less than they deserved, with the home crowd in fine voice and Arsenal struggling to find their rhythm.

Arsenal's cause was not helped by a bizarre incident in the 88th minute when Max Dowman was sent off after a scuffle with Neal near the halfway line. The Arsenal youngster appeared to strike out after a hefty challenge, and after an almighty melee, referee Michael Salisbury showed him a red card. It looked harsh on first view, but Arsenal had to see out the game with 10 men. Andy Cannon was also booked in that skirmish, while Mikel Arteta did not look remotely impressed with Dowman as he trudged off.

Despite the man disadvantage, Arsenal pushed for a winner. In the 90th minute, Ben White was unmarked and shot on goal from eight yards out, but Lynch repelled it at his near post. In the 91st minute, Lynch tipped Odegaard's swerving effort away, and Havertz appealed for a penalty. Eze's cross then hit Haughey, and there were shouts for handball. In the 92nd minute, Eze got another chance to whip the ball in and find Havertz, whose downward header spun wide of goal. And in the 94th minute, Rooney's cross was shanked into the air by Ben White, and Meslier couldn't keep it in play. The corner was headed away by Konsa at the near post.

Fleetwood had their chances too. In the 83rd minute, Andy Cannon's header was blocked by Meslier, and from the rebound, the keeper was down quickly to block Will Davies' shot from a tight angle. In the 79th minute, Loupalo-Bi broke into the Arsenal half, but Mosquera shook him off the ball. And in the 71st minute, the Fleetwood fans chanted for Rooney, Coughlin, and "boring, boring Arsenal" - who had won a corner after Lewis-Skelly's shot was blocked.

The match also saw a number of substitutions. For Arsenal, Bruno Guimaraes and Ezri Konsa replaced Zubimendi and Lewis-Skelly in the 82nd minute, while Eberechi Eze replaced O'Neill in the 66th minute. Ben White replaced Jurrien Timber at half-time, and captain Martin Odegaard came on for Marli Salmon. For Fleetwood, Ched Evans and Crispin McLean were replaced by Ronan Coughlan and Adam Murphy in the 65th minute, and Will Davies came on for goalscorer Loupalo-Bi in the 82nd minute. Andy Cannon also came on for Mark Helm in the 73rd minute.

The game was not without its moments of humor. A solitary lad was seen watching from his bedroom window behind the Fleetwood goal, and the Fleetwood fans' chants added to the atmosphere. The match also had a lengthy stoppage due to a drone, which led to seven minutes of first-half stoppage time.

In the other tie of the night, Bradford led Peterborough 1-0 at half-time through Macaulay Gillesphey's opener, and went on to win 2-0 with Adam Phillips finding the top corner. The result means Bradford are into the quarter-final draw, and Fleetwood will be hoping to join them if they can overcome Arsenal on penalties.

As the game headed into its final minutes, the prospect of penalties loomed. With the score level at 1-1, both teams had chances to win it, but neither could find the net. The match ended in a draw, and the tie will be decided by a penalty shootout. For Arsenal, it was a night to forget, while for Fleetwood, it was a performance to remember.