Fleetwood have sold out Highbury for the first time in years, and Max Dowman could start for Arsenal in the Carabao Cup
Fleetwood are 18th in League Two and have never been this far in the competition, while Arteta is expected to rest most of his first team before Sunday’s trip to Anfield.
Oct 27, 2026
Fleetwood Town have sold out Highbury Stadium for Arsenal’s visit in the Carabao Cup fourth round tonight, and manager Matt Lawlor says it is the first time that has happened in “11 or 12 years”. The League Two side kick off against the Premier League champions at 8pm UK time, which is 1:30am on Wednesday in India.
On paper it is no contest. Fleetwood are 18th in the fourth tier and have lost five of their last seven league games, the latest a 2-1 defeat at Exeter on Saturday. Arsenal beat Everton 2-0 on the same day to go level on points with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.
Fleetwood’s best cup run
The cup has been a different story for Fleetwood. They beat Chesterfield 1-0 and Shrewsbury 4-0 in the first two rounds, then knocked out Championship side Sheffield United 1-0 in the third. They had never reached the fourth round of this competition before.
“The champions are coming to town on our patch and it’s on telly, so if you can’t get up for this game you can’t get up for any game,” Lawlor told BBC Radio Lancashire. “The players need to be excited for it, but while respect is through the roof, the fear can’t be.”
He was honest about the size of the job, too. “The performance against Sheffield United was excellent. We need to replicate that times a million tomorrow.”
Lawlor will be without Lewis McCann, who is suspended after picking up two bookings in the competition, and Kane Thompson-Sommers and Will Johnson are injured. Andy Cannon is available, though his minutes are likely to be managed.
Arteta will rotate, and Dowman could start
Arsenal are at Anfield on Sunday to play Liverpool, so Mikel Arteta is expected to change most of his side. Bukayo Saka and William Saliba are both injured, and Riccardo Calafiori is a doubt after a problem against Everton.
Kepa Arrizabalaga should start in goal, and the Evening Standard expects Piero Hincapié and Cristhian Mosquera to get minutes after their own injury problems this season. The most interesting name is Max Dowman. The 16-year-old scored twice in the 4-2 win at Ipswich in the third round, and asked whether Dowman would start, Arteta would only say: “Let’s see.”
Arsenal have a point to prove in this competition as well. They lost last season’s final to Manchester City and have not won the League Cup since 1993.
What to expect
There is no extra time in this round, so a draw after 90 minutes goes straight to penalties. Fleetwood will not mind that much. All three of their cup ties this season were at Highbury, and they kept a clean sheet in every one.
Even a heavily rotated Arsenal side should have far too much quality for a team in the bottom half of League Two, and I expect Arteta’s fringe players to win this comfortably. But a full, loud Highbury on a Tuesday night is exactly the sort of game where a big side can start slowly, and Fleetwood need only one goal and a lot of defending to make it a long night for the champions.