Arsenal Knocked Out of Carabao Cup by Fleetwood Town

Arsenal suffered an unexpected defeat in the Carabao Cup after comfortably beating Everton in the Premier League. The Gunners, drawing 1-1 with Fleetwood Town of League Two in the fourth round thanks to a goal from Viktor Gyokeres, lost 5-3 on penalties. Bruno Guimaraes missed his spot kick, which sent the London club out of the competition.

In the match, young player Max Dowman was shown a red card for retaliating to a rough challenge. Manager Mikel Arteta was seen reacting angrily to the player as he walked towards the tunnel. Dowman's suspension means Arsenal will be short of wide options for the match against Liverpool.

Bukayo Saka and Christos Tzolis are also reported to be unavailable for the Liverpool fixture. Five players were missing from the squad preparations at Highbury ahead of the Fleetwood game, some due to unplanned injuries. Noni Madueke's absence further limited Arteta's options out wide.

After the cup match, Arteta said Declan Rice was unable to play due to a minor injury. Rice had featured against Everton and took part in training on Monday. Riccardo Calafiori also did not feature against Fleetwood. This injury situation will be a serious test of Arsenal's squad depth in the coming weeks.