Fourth-tier side Fleetwood Town F.C. pulled off one of the most surprising upsets in football history on Wednesday morning (AEDT), knocking Arsenal out of the Carabao Cup in the fourth round.
A staggering 84 places separate Arsenal, who sit second in the Premier League, and Fleetwood Town, who sit 18th in the EFL League Two.
With an estimated squad value of €1.4 billion ($2.2 billion AUD) compared to Fleetwood's €2.8 million ($4.4 million AUD), it's safe to say the majority of the football world expected a comfortable result for the Gunners, who were left embarrassed by a combined effort from Fleetwood players and fans.
The biggest cup shock of all time?
— Fleetwood Town Football Club (@ftfc) October 27, 2026
This is the story behind Fleetwood Town's fascinating history.
Founded in 1908 in the northwest of England, Fleetwood operate out of a small seaside town with a population of about 26,000 people.
Fleetwood immediately adopted the nickname called "The Cod Army" in a proud acknowledgement of the local fishing industry around Lancashire.
Financial problems forced the club to fold on two separate occasions in 1977 and 1997, causing Fleetwood to completely restart from the bottom of the North West Counties League.
Local businessman Andy Pilley bought and took over the club in 2004, investing over £10 million ($19 million AUD) into the organisation and completely transforming Fleetwood's fortunes.
A meteoric rise was capped in 2014 when Fleetwood secured EFL League One promotion after a playoff victory at Wembley Stadium. The historic result saw the seaside club reach its highest-ever football pyramid position to this day.
Before their stunning victory over Arsenal, Fleetwood Town were best known as the team where former England striker and Premier League winner Jamie Vardy made his name in the fifth tier of English football.
Vardy scored 31 goals in 36 games in his one-and-only season for Fleetwood, earning promotion to the English Football League in 2012. Vardy was then sold to Leicester City for a £1 million fee, the most expensive non-league transfer ever before the record was broken last month.
Socceroo Harry Souttar also made 52 appearances across two successful loan spells at Fleetwood Town in 2019 and 2020.
In May 2023, former owner Andy Pilley was arrested and sentenced to 13 years in prison after multiple fraud and money-laundering offences. His son, Jamie Pilley, took over in 2024 and has helped Fleetwood remain in the Football League and establish themselves as true giantkillers.
Fleetwood Town boss Matt Lawlor, who is in his first senior managerial role, could not contain his excitement after defeating the English champions.
"That feeling tonight is something that, if you could bottle it and sell it, you'd be a multi-millionaire," Lawlor said.
"The amount of time, effort, blood, sweat and tears that's gone into this place to build it to where it is now, and what it's achieved tonight, is unbelievable. It's a night we'll never forget as a town, a club and a group of staff and players.”
Fleetwood's cup tie with Arsenal was also their first sell-out crowd in over a decade, with the 5300 seater ground known as Highbury Stadium serving as an intimate fortress against the Premier League giants.
Fleetwood Town will now face either Everton or Newcastle United in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, setting the stage for yet another fairy-tale chapter in their historic cup run.
