Arsenal’s Penalty Shootout Record: How Arteta Has Improved It

Arsenal have now won seven of their last nine penalty shootouts after beating Crystal Palace 8–7 on spot-kicks in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final.

The shootout proved decisive after a dramatic 1–1 draw at the Emirates Stadium, with 15 of the 16 penalties converted before Kepa Arrizabalaga produced the only save of the contest.

Arsenal beat Crystal Palace in 16-kick penalty shootout

Arsenal looked to have won the tie in normal time when Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix turned the ball into his own net in the 80th minute.

However, Palace forced the match to penalties in the fifth minute of stoppage time when Marc Guehi reacted quickest to Jefferson Lerma’s knockdown to bundle home from close range.

The resulting shootout was of an exceptionally high standard from the takers’ point of view.

Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, Mikel Merino, Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber and William Saliba all converted confidently for Arsenal, while Palace matched them kick for kick until Lacroix was denied by Kepa Arrizabalaga.

After the game, Mikel Arteta was asked if Arsenal would win a major trophy in 2026. He replied with a 57-word statement that included him declaring that “there is a lot of belief”. Tuesday’s win over Palace kept alive Arsenal’s hopes of winning the quadruple in the 2025/26 season.

Arsenal’s record in penalty shootouts

Arsenal have now contested 27 penalty shootouts in competitive matches.

They have won 17 of those shootouts and lost 10, giving them a strong overall win percentage of 63%.

Full list of Arsenal’s penalty shootouts

Arsenal have faced 22 different opponents during their 27 penalty shootouts.

Liverpool are the only team they have beaten more than once, overcoming the Reds in the 2020 Community Shield before winning another shootout against them in the League Cup later that same year.

Meanwhile, Manchester United are the team Arsenal have lost to on penalties more than any other. United beat the Gunners in the 1993 and 2003 Community Shields, before also knocking them out of the FA Cup in the 2024/25 season.

How Arsenal’s penalty shootout record has improved under Mikel Arteta

Arsenal’s penalty shootout record has improved significantly since Mikel Arteta became manager in December 2019.

Prior to the Arteta era, Arsenal had won 12 of their first 20 shootouts (60%). Under Arteta, they have now won five of seven shootouts (71.4%), lifting the club’s all-time success rate to 63%.

That improvement may be linked to Arteta’s well-documented emphasis on mental strength, preparation and belief, as well as the club’s increasingly regular practice of deciding pre-season friendlies with penalty shootouts.

Martin Odegaard equals Arsenal’s all-time penalty shootout scoring record

Martin Odegaard has now scored in each of Arsenal’s last five penalty shootouts — against Sporting, Manchester City, Porto, Manchester United and Crystal Palace.

The Arsenal captain is now level with former skipper Patrick Vieira as the club’s joint top scorer in penalty shootouts.

Meanwhile, Bukayo Saka is just one successful spot-kick behind the pair.

Arsenal’s leading penalty shootout scorers

Which Arsenal goalkeeper has the best record in penalty shootouts?

Following Tuesday’s victory over Palace, Kepa Arrizabalaga became the 12th Arsenal goalkeeper to end a penalty shootout on the winning side.

He is also now one of six goalkeepers with a 100% shootout record for the club. Graham Stack, Bernd Leno and Petr Cech also each played and won a single shootout for Arsenal.

Lukasz Fabianski won two out of two, but the Arsenal goalkeeper with the strongest shootout record is Manuel Almunia, who boasts a perfect three wins from three. Almunia was part of Arsenal teams that beat Sheffield United, Doncaster Rovers and Roma on penalties between 2005 and 2009.