Martin Odegaard has warned his Arsenal teammates there is no time for self-pity following a surprise Carabao Cup elimination by Sky Bet League Two outfit Fleetwood on Tuesday evening.
A saved penalty from Bruno Guimaraes in the shootout presented teenage defender Conor Haughey with the chance to score the decisive kick, sending the hosts into the quarter-finals in one of the tournament's greatest historic upsets.
Mikel Arteta made nine alterations to his side, but despite fielding plenty of international experience, Arsenal produced a disjointed opening period and trailed to Aaron Loupalo-Bi’s 21st-minute strike.
The introduction of Norway midfielder Odegaard at half-time dictated play in central midfield and brought a marked improvement, with Viktor Gyokeres soon restoring parity with his first goal of the campaign.
The Gunners subsequently squandered several opportunities to take the lead before Max Dowman was sent off in the 85th minute, after which Fleetwood goalkeeper Lynch made two vital saves during injury time to force penalties.
"It’s very frustrating to go out," Odegaard said. "Obviously, the way we’ve played was not on the level. We need to do much, much better than we did.
"Frustrating, but congratulations to Fleetwood and we look forward to the next game already and bounce back.
"They did well so we have to give them credit, but I think (it) was about us not being on our level, we need to do better. I thought we improved during the game, but again, we need to step up even more – so that’s a shame."
Arsenal head back to the north west this weekend for a major test against Liverpool at Anfield, where they must clear this disappointment from their system to maintain pressure at the top of the Premier League after drawing level with Manchester City last time out.
"We can’t feel sorry for ourselves," Odegaard added. "We need to move on – we have a big game at the weekend, so bouncing back at the weekend is all we can do now."
Arteta won this competition twice while working on Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff at Manchester City, and guided Arsenal to last season's final where they were beaten by City once again.
On this occasion, the Arsenal manager conceded defeat gracefully and offered his congratulations to Fleetwood.
"That is why football is entertainment, especially in this competition and in this country, things like that" the Spaniard said. "They believe in it and the people have it because of the history. We didn’t want to go through this and we are extremely sad but we need to congratulate the opponent."
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