On a wet and windy night on the north-west coast of England, a League Two side sensationally knocked the Premier League champions out of the Carabao Cup.
asserted
side → knock → Cup
But this is not just a fairytale story of giant-slaying: Fleetwood Town and Arsenal have an unlikely history that stretches back long before Tuesday night’s game.
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that → have → game
Arsenal played at their iconic Highbury stadium until 2006, and Fleetwood’s ground has the same title, being named after Highbury Avenue, the adjoining street.
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ground → play → Avenue
Fleetwood also play in red shirts with white sleeves in the style of the classic Arsenal kit.
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Fleetwood → play → kit
Nobody is exactly sure why, but according to Ray Curtis, a barman in the town’s King’s Arms: “Fleetwood’s first ever kit, the home kit, was given to them by Arsenal.”
uncertain
kit → accord → Arsenal
And in the 2000s, not long after Patrick Vieira captained Arsenal, Fleetwood boasted a namesake star: a Brazilian striker called Magno Vieira.
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Fleetwood → captain → star
At the 5,300-capacity Highbury on Wednesday morning, the floodlights that Fleetwood had hired for the occasion were being packed away.
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Fleetwood → hire → occasion
“It’s back to reality, back to being a League Two team, that’s our normal,” said Zsofia Wright, the ticket office and retail manager.
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Wright → ’ → reality
On Tuesday, the excitement and anticipation started early.
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excitement → start → Tuesday
“We started getting what team had turned up, who’d flown in, and the whispers started, and it’s like, ‘oh, they’ve gone quite strong’,” Wright said.
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Wright → start → ?
“So we were all planning to just enjoy the occasion.
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we → plan → occasion
And then obviously, we went 1-0 up and everyone was kind of looking at each other, like this isn’t supposed to be happening.”
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this → go → other
She said it was back to reality when Arsenal equalised except that “the clock kept on going and the score didn’t change”.
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score → say → reality
Wright said everyone was on the pitch after the dramatic penalty shootout that saw the Premier League champions and Champions League finalists ousted from the competition.
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champions → say → competition
“Just incredible,” Wright said.
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Wright → say → ?
“The atmosphere was crazy,” said Chris Newman, 33, who was at the match with his son.
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who → say → son
He returned to the club shop on Wednesday to pick up two souvenir programmes.
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He → return → programmes
“Everything happened so quick,” he said.
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he → happen → ?
“I just didn’t expect it at all.”
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I → expect → it
The shop has done a roaring trade over the past 36 hours, with half-and-half Fleetwood and Arsenal scarves proving especially popular.
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scarves → do → hours
One buyer with a London accent said: “I’m a Spurs fan, it’s brilliant.”
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it → say → accent
Wright said the town was abuzz the morning after: “Bars, pubs that are struggling, they were open till God knows what time yesterday.
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God → say → ?
We just hope it can continue throughout the season, just hope that attendances start to pick up, and get consistency back again through the gates.”
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attendances → hope → gates
The club’s nicknames – the Cod Army, the Fishermen, the Cods and the Trawlermen – all derive from the Lancashire town’s fishing industry.
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nicknames → derive → industry
Sharon Brooks, who was visiting a fishmonger by the harbour, said: “We thought it’d be three, four or five nil, but they did so well to get a draw and then win on penalties, and five brilliant penalties.
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they → visit → penalties
It’s nice for a town like Fleetwood, and [against the] Premier League winners last season, they just surprised you didn’t they?”
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they → ’ → you
Her 12-year-old son, Ryan, who is an Arsenal fan, said: “Even though I wanted [Arsenal] to win it, I’m pleased for them.”
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I → say → them
In the King’s Arms, everyone was eagerly awaiting Wednesday night’s draw, which will decide who Fleetwood plays next.
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Fleetwood → await → who
Donald Maclean, who missed the game because he was on duty at a nursing home, said: “I saw the goals this morning and I was delighted, over the moon, imagine Fleetwood taking down the Gunners!
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Fleetwood → miss → Gunners
Never been heard of before, so yes, we’re all delighted about it.
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we → hear → it
The Cod Army’s victory has delighted fans partly because it was so unexpected – Fleetwood sit 84 places below Arsenal in the football league pyramid.
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Fleetwood → delight → pyramid
Michael Houton said he had thought the result impossible “because Arsenal shouldn’t have got beaten should they?
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they → say → ?
Paul Dagger was so pessimistic about his team’s chances that he had staked £200 at half-time on Arsenal to win at odds of 10/7.
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he → stake → 10/7
“Gyökeres [of Arsenal] scored within five minutes of the start,” he said.
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he → score → start
“I thought, oh here we go, money’s coming in now.
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money → think → ?
You live and learn.”
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You → live → ?
Fleetwood fans hope it will be the start of something bigger than just a victory for lovers of the game.
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it → hope → game
“The town needs it,” Dagger said.
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Dagger → need → it
“As you can see, it’s full of charity shops and vape shops.”
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it → see → shops
Garry Gill, a retired crane operator, said: “I am a Fleetwood fan and I think it’s fantastic for the town.
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it → say → town
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
