Arsenal suffered one of the most humiliating defeats in their history as League Two minnows Bradford City clinched a stunning triumph on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the League Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday.
The Gunners have endured a traumatic campaign that included their worst start to a Premier League campaign in manager Arsene Wenger’s 16-year reign, but this was a new low for a club now in the midst of a full-blown crisis.
Not even Arsenal’s most ardent critic would have believed they could produce such a spineless display against a team from English football’s fourth tier.
“They defended well and we all know what happened on the penalties. We had many, many chances and their keeper had a good game,” Wenger said.
“Whenever you go out it’s not a good result for Arsenal. We lost on penalties to a team who played very well. I cannot fault the effort of my team, we gave everything for the 120 minutes and you have to give credit to Bradford.
“It’s not a lack of quality. We’ll get over this, it’s part of our job. We’ll focus on the next game.”
Bradford manager Phil Parkinson added: “The lads were terrific, the discipline was first class against such a talented team like Arsenal.