Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has claimed that the “poor goal” his team conceded against Fleetwood Town handed the momentum to the hosts in the Carabao Cup.
The Gunners were eliminated from the competition via penalty kicks on Tuesday night.
Aaron Loupalo-Bi opened the scoring for the League Two side, before Viktor Gyokeres levelled after the break.
The tie was decided via spot kicks, with Fleetwood winning 5-3 after Bruno Guimaraes saw his effort saved.
Arteta, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, said: “First of all, congratulations to Fleetwood for going through the next round. The manner that they have done it, and for us a very sad day.
“There is nothing to criticise the players for their attitude, their application.
“The determination – you could see that was there from the start. Even with 10 men, we conceded a really poor goal to start with that gave them some momentum.”