'Terrible' - Bruno Guimaraes slammed as Newcastle United see Carabao Cup record end with Arsenal
Newcastle United’s Carabao Cup-winning captain Bruno Guimaraes missed his penalty in Arsenal’s shootout defeat to Fleetwood Town.
It was a night to forget for Bruno Guimaraes after the former Newcastle United captain missed his penalty in Arsenal’s shock Carabao Cup exit to League Two side Fleetwood Town.
The Brazilian midfielder was brought on as a substitute in the closing stages as the Premier League champions went in search of a late winner. However, they instead had to settle for penalties.
The tie ended 1-1 in normal time after £64million striker Viktor Gyokeres cancelled out Aaron Loupalo-Bi’s first-half opener. Mikel Arteta’s side ended the game with 10 men after 16-year-old Max Dowman was sent off.
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After seven perfect spot kicks, Guimaraes stepped up, doing his usual stuttered run-up, but saw his effort saved by goalkeeper Jay Lynch. That gave Conor Haughey the opportunity to fire the fourth-tier side into the quarter-finals, which he duly delivered.
‘Terrible’ - Bruno Guimaraes slammed over Arsenal penalty miss
Guimaraes has now missed three of his last four spot-kicks for club and country, having missed in Newcastle’s FA Cup shootout win over AFC Bournemouth in January before his high-profile miss during Brazil’s World Cup last 16 exit to Norway.
The Standard described the 28-year-old’s saved effort against Fleetwood as “terrible” before handing him a 3/10 in their post-match player ratings.
Goal.com also gave Guimaraes a 3/10 and wrote: “A nightmare cameo. Brought on in the 82nd minute to provide quality, but he missed the crucial penalty in the shootout that led to Arsenal's elimination.”
Meanwhile, The Sun handed Guimaraes a slightly higher mark of 4/10 but made reference to his stuttered run-up.
Bruno Guimaraes fails to reach the Carabao Cup last eight for the first time
Along with a shock exit for Arsenal and a giant-killing for Fleetwood, it marked the first time Guimaraes had failed to reach at least the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
In his four full seasons at Newcastle prior to his £75million move to Arsenal in the summer, the midfielder reached the final in 2022/23, quarter-final in 2023/24, won the competition in 2024/25 and reached the semi-final last season.
Newcastle have the opportunity to reach the last eight of the competition for a fifth successive season when they travel to Premier League counterparts Everton on Thursday night.