Flashback: Bradford City stun Arsenal in League Cup on this day in 2012

Arsenal suffered humiliation in the League Cup on this day in 2012 as they lost on penalties to League Two side Bradford after a 1-1 draw at Valley Parade.
By Sports Desk
Published 11th Dec 2020, 06:00 BST
A dejected Arsenal team look on as they head out of the competition in the penalty shootout during the Capital One Cup quarter final match against Bradford City at Valley Parade on December 11, 2012. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images).A dejected Arsenal team look on as they head out of the competition in the penalty shootout during the Capital One Cup quarter final match against Bradford City at Valley Parade on December 11, 2012. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images).
A dejected Arsenal team look on as they head out of the competition in the penalty shootout during the Capital One Cup quarter final match against Bradford City at Valley Parade on December 11, 2012. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images).

Bradford went on to beat another top-flight side, Aston Villa, in a two-legged semi-final before losing to Swansea in the final.

The PA news agency followed Bradford’s giant-killing run to Wembley and provided this report of that unforgettable victory against Arsene Wenger’s side.

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Arsenal suffered an embarrassment of epic proportions as they lost on penalties to a battling Bradford side whose achievement should rank among football’s all-time giant-killing feats.

Phil Parkinson’s League Two players did not just beat Arsenal in this Capital One Cup quarter-final, for much of this match they outplayed Arsene Wenger’s woeful Gunners to reach a first ever semi-final.

The spot-kick specialists won their ninth successive penalty shoot-out 3-2 after Thomas Vermaelen struck the post.

The Arsenal skipper had earlier appeared to rescue the Gunners with a header three minutes from normal time to cancel out Garry Thompson’s first-half volley.

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But keeper Matt Duke defied the Premier League side to send the tie to a shoot-out – and glory for Bradford in front of a 23,971 sell-out crowd, the club’s biggest since 1960.

The defeat in sub-zero temperatures, and another failure in Arsenal’s seven-year quest for silverware, will chill the veins of Wenger as he contemplates the season so far.

The humiliation was further intensified by Wenger’s breaking his long-held rule and fielding a full-strength side in the League Cup.

Related topics:ArsenalLeague TwoBradford CitySwanseaAston Villa

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