Arsenal draw Fleetwood: League Two trip in Carabao Cup fourth round

Arsenal have been drawn away to League Two side Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup fourth round, making the Lancashire club the lowest-ranked side left in the competition. The tie is scheduled for the week commencing 26 October, giving Mikel Arteta more than five weeks to weigh up his selection for a fixture that looks straightforward on paper but carries obvious risk.

Premier League Champions Arsenal drawn away to League Two Fleetwood

Fleetwood Town sit in England’s fourth tier, three divisions below Arsenal, and are the only remaining club in the Carabao Cup from outside the top two flights. They earned their place in round four by beating Championship opposition Sheffield United on their own ground in round three, a result that marks them out as more than makeweights.

• Fleetwood Town: League Two, lowest-ranked club left in the competition
• Third-round result: beat Championship side Sheffield United at home
• Fourth-round tie: Arsenal away to Fleetwood Town
• Scheduled week: commencing 26 October 2026

For Arsenal, a trip to a fourth-tier ground is rare territory. It is exactly the kind of fixture that has undone bigger clubs in this competition before, and Arteta will know a slip here would draw far more scrutiny than a similar draw against Premier League opposition.

The Fourth Round Carabao Cup Draw

The fourth-round draw was made on Wednesday evening, 16 September, shortly after Manchester United’s third-round exit following losing a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 at home Brighton.

The draw paired Liverpool at home to Chelsea, arguably the standout tie of the four rounds and a reminder of how differently the bracket has fallen for England’s leading clubs. The Sky Sports report on the draw confirmed the full set of pairings, while The Independent’s live coverage tracked the ceremony as each tie was announced.

Arsenal’s involvement in the League Cup this season has already been the subject of debate among supporters, not least given other recent talking points around the club, including our coverage of the Sunderland controversy. A routine draw against lower-league opposition offers a break from that noise, even if the fixture itself demands respect.

Mikel Arteta gets chance to manage squad workload

Arteta’s central problem this season is not talent but volume: too many matches for too few rest days across four competitions. A trip to League Two Fleetwood, rather than a heavyweight Premier League name, gives him licence to rotate heavily without inviting the sort of pressure that follows a cup exit to elite opposition.

Expect fringe players and squad members short on minutes to be pushed forward for selection, with several first-team regulars rested entirely. That approach fits the pattern already seen this season, with Arsenal’s depth tested repeatedly since the victory at Villa Park in early September.

The judgement call is straightforward in theory: field a team strong enough to win comfortably while protecting the players who carry the heaviest Premier League and European workload. In practice, League Two opponents have punished complacent Premier League sides before, so full rotation without full focus is the real risk Arteta must avoid.

What happens next: October fourth-round schedule

The Carabao Cup fourth round, including Arsenal’s trip to Fleetwood Town and Liverpool’s home tie against Chelsea, is scheduled for the week commencing 26 October 2026. No exact date or kick-off time has yet been confirmed for the Fleetwood fixture.

Until then, Arsenal’s focus stays on Premier League and European commitments, with the cup tie sitting five weeks out on the calendar. Further reporting on the fixture, including team news and confirmed dates as they emerge, can be found in our full report on Arsenal F.C.

For a club with genuine ambitions in four competitions this season, a winnable-looking round four away at a League Two side is a welcome, low-risk assignment. How Arteta uses it will say as much about his squad planning as about Arsenal’s progress in the competition itself.

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