If you only watched Arsenal, you'd rate Fleetwood Town above these 4 teams
Fleetwood Town eliminated Arsenal from the EFL Cup; that's the headline. The headline is not that Arsenal got knocked out; it's that Fleetwood knocked them out. The Cod Army absolutely deserve their respect.
From Arsenal's perspective, it has been a long time since we've seen a performance like that. In fact, you'd have to stretch back as far as Lockdown Arsenal to recall anything like that.
Nevertheless, the point remains the same. Fleetwood deserves their respect, so here are four teams that could learn a lesson from the Cods in beating Arsenal.
Fleetwood outclassed Arsenal better than these 4 teams could
1. Real Madrid
Yes, Los Blancos may have just won El Clasico, but Jose Mourinho should be taking notes from the mighty Fleetwood Town before Real Madrid meets with Arsenal in the Champions League.
Real Madrid has never beaten Arsenal. The last time these two teams faced was in the 2025 Quarter-Finals, when Arsenal won 5-1 on aggregate. Declan Rice scored those two screamers at the Emirates Stadium, and Gabriel Martinelli put the cherry on the cake at the Bernabeu.
Real Madrid has rarely presented a challenge to Arsenal. The same cannot be said for Fleetwood!
I don't remember the last time Chelsea challenged Arsenal. The Blues boast JP Morgan, JP Morgan that, but honestly, when they came to the Emirates this season, there wasn't a single minute when I thought Arsenal would lose, or even draw.
Morgan Rogers scored an early consolation goal, but Arsenal were easily the better team. If you were to only watch Arsenal games, you would be forgiven for thinking Fleetwood are a better team than Chelsea.
3. Man City
Okay, this one is more off-field, but I'm pretty certain Fleetwood don't have over 100 charges against their name, right?
4. Tottenham
Tottenham haven't beaten Arsenal in their last eight games. In fact, they've not even threatened to beat Arsenal in that time.
Ever since Arsenal became a legitimately good club again, Spurs haven't kept up. Where Arsenal have risen, Tottenham have fallen magnificently.
They've been flirting with relegation quite heavily in recent seasons, so they should be watching teams in lower divisions. The best place to look would be Fleetwood, as they might learn a thing or two about bringing the competition to Arsenal.
Fleetwood will find out their opponents in the next stage of the EFL Cup tonight. They will be ball number four. The most favourable option is to face Bradford, with the toughest fixture looking to be Man City/Brighton.
