Grimsby inspired Fleetwood's EFL Cup victory over Arsenal, says Lynch

Fleetwood Town hero Jay Lynch said the inspiration behind his team's shock EFL Cup win over Arsenal came from Grimsby Town's upset against Manchester United last season.

League Two Fleetwood booked their place in the quarter-finals of the competition with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win on Tuesday following a 1-1 draw in normal time.

Aaron Loupalo-Bi had given Fleetwood a 21st-minute lead at Highbury Stadium, but Viktor Gyokeres levelled things up for the Premier League champions in the second half. 

However, Mikel Arteta's side were reduced to 10 men when Max Dowman kicked out at Fleetwood's Harrison Neal following a strong tackle on the teenager in the 85th minute. 

Both teams had been perfect in the shoot-out until Bruno Guimaraes was denied by Lynch, with Conor Haughey stepping up to spark wild scenes among the home supporters.

Fleetwood eliminating Arsenal is the first time a fourth-tier side has knocked out the reigning English champions in a domestic cup since Wrexham beat the Gunners 34 years ago in the FA Cup (1992).

They have also now emerged victorious from their last four penalty shoot-outs in all competitions, converting each of their last 16 spot-kicks across those shoot-outs.

Speaking after the famous win, Lynch said Fleetwood "took heart" from Grimsby dumping out Man Utd in the second round of last year's competition, when they followed up a 2-2 draw with a dramatic 12-11 win on penalties. 

"The whole team throughout the game were magnificent. To beat the English champions . . .," Lynch said.

"We took heart from Grimsby beating United last year. We kind of compared it. We thought if we give it a good go late on, let’s see what happens.

"It's a typical night in Fleetwood! We were expecting a storm, we knew the conditions would be horrible, and it might work in our favour.

"It's amazing for the club and the town, it means everything for everyone."

Arsenal's elimination by Fleetwood was only the second time in EFL Cup history that the reigning top-flight champions have been knocked out by a fourth tier opponent, along with Leeds United, who lost 3-0 to Chester City in 1974-75.

There are 84 places between Fleetwood and Arsenal in the English football pyramid, with Matt Lawlor's team languishing at the bottom end of League Two. 

Fleetwood had not won any of their previous five meetings with Premier League opponents, and they only managed three shots compared to Arsenal's 26 during the encounter. 

Arsenal's expected goals (xG) total of 2.21 dwarfed Fleetwood's tally of 0.26, but Haughey's winning penalty capped a performance showing plenty of courage and endeavour. 

"Don't know. Just pick my spot and put it in it. Top corner and run like f***!," Haughey said of his spot-kick. 

"I don't even know what’s going on. I'm so proud of the boys, it just shows – we've just beaten the champions of England – it just shows how good the team were.

"We'll think about [the quarter-final] after partying."