Southampton stunned Premier League leading Arsenal with a 2-1 triumph in the FA Cup quarter-final.
The Saints were short on shots in the first half, but they persistently posed problems for the favourites in the late kick-off at their turf, and they took a lead into half time through a Ross Stewart strike. Viktor Gyokeres grabbed an equaliser off the bench, but the hosts would not be denied by full time.
Story of the Match
Tonda Eckert expected a competitive performance from his players, who are undefeated in their last 14 fixtures and have won 11 of those games. He made five changes to the starting eleven he sent out in a 2-0 victory over Oxford United. Jack Stephens stepped aside for Nathan Wood at the back. Cam Bragg and Caspar Jandar joined forces in the middle of the park. Cyle Larin left Ross Stewart to stake his claim as the central forward, and Leo Scienza switched in for Cameron Archer.
Mikel Arteta looked for a reaction after the Carabao Cup final defeat. He chose to stick with Kepa Arrizabalaga as the shot stopper despite his mistake against Manchester City. Myles Lewis-Skelly started as a left back, while Gabriel Magalhaes partnered with Cristhian Mosquera in central defence. Club captain Martin Odegaard returned to the midfield after missing a month of football, and rising star Max Dowman was handed a starting spot as the right winger ahead of Ben White.
The use of Lewis-Skelly at left back signalled a more inverted role from this position while White is no stranger to supporting Odegaard and the winger in the final third. But spaces were available for Southampton to stretch the backline on the breakaway. Twice in the first three minutes, Magalhaes made interventions to obstruct the progress of Tom Fellows and then Scienza in the penalty area.
A loose touch from Mosquera allowed the Saints to counter once more, and Bragg wasted an opportunity to go at the heart of the Arsenal backline. Then it was the turn of Lewis-Skelly and Christian Norgaard to get in each other’s way, and Magalhaes put out another fire with a block.
Despite the threat from the hosts, their opponents came closest to breaking the deadlock in the first 10 minutes of the match. Dowman had driven directly into the final third to fire off the first shot on target from Arteta’s men before Odegaard released Gabriel Martinelli to break beyond the backline into space. He earned a corner with a deflected drilled effort, and the forward was free on the edge of the penalty area to profit from a set-piece. Taylor Harwood-Bellis blocked his goal-bound strike.
The wastefulness from the Saints persisted. Finn Azaz was released with an accurate switch of play to push onwards into the box, but the ball bounced off his shoulder and allowed the opposition to recover. Then came their biggest chance of the clash until that point as Scienza sprinted onto a knockdown and slipped around Kepa, but he took too long to shoot, and Mosquera pinched the ball.
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A miss of equal magnitude would soon belong to the visitors. Martinelli made headway on the left flank, firing a cutback towards Odegaard. The captain stood freely close to the penalty spot in his favoured shooting position, but he completely miskicked the ball as it drifted harmlessly off target.
Dowman rammed home the issue. He slalomed inside Ryan Manning to leave the left back on a booking with more than an hour of action to go, and he followed up with a firm right-footed strike. Havertz had an opportunity minutes later that deflected just beyond the post of Daniel Peretz.
The Gunners had produced many more shots, but dominance was tentative at its best. White almost put Kepa into trouble with a back pass, and he was then at the scene of the first goal of the game.
Odegaard’s misplaced backheel to Dowman allowed Southampton to shift gears and get forward in open space. James Bree carried the ball forwards, and he searched for Stewart on the left side. White leapt, misjudging the flight of the pass, and the striker was free to fire home into the back of the net.
A meek response from the Gunners
Arteta surely would have given his group a rocket at half time, but the response was a little meek from his men. Gabriel Jesus flipped a header into the hands of Peretz, and Dowman drilled a half volley into the body of Manning. The Saints stood firm, and they had their opportunities to strike back.
Most clearly of all, a square pass from Mosquera towards Gabriel gave Fellows a big opening to attack the Arsenal goal. Yellow shirts streamed forward, but the ball flew far above Kepa’s goal.
The Arsenal manager felt compelled to make changes. Riccardo Calafiori came on for Lewis-Skelly, Viktor Gyokeres got Jesus’ role upfront, and Noni Madueke moved onto the right wing while Dowman displaced Odegaard as the attacking midfielder. However, the hosts were not deterred.
Almost immediately, Scienza, who had drawn White into earning a yellow card in the first half, dribbled at his opposite man, shifted infield, and bent the ball onto the top of the crossbar.
Arsenal had not looked like enforcing their superior quality all evening, but they eventually put the pieces together to stun the Saints. Gabriel stepped forward on the carry, and he cut the lines with a straight pass to release Havertz. The midfielder broke freely towards the byline inside the box, and his cutback arrived at the feet of Gyokeres, who levelled the scoreline with twenty minutes left to play.
Arteta sent on the cavalry. Magalhaes made way, sitting on the bench with an ice pack on his knee, so William Saliba sat next to Mosquera in central defence. Martin Zubimendi stepped into the midfield unit and Havertz departed the field in the 79th minute. Meanwhile, Dowman continued to take the game to the hosts, forcing Peretz into another firm save before Martinelli came close.
Charles delivers the knockout blow
Eckert asked Shea Charles, Sam Edozie and Cyle Larin to lift the hosts, and one of the substitutes obliged in the final five minutes of normal time. Fellows flew forward on the right flank, stepping inside Calafiori. He slid a pass towards Charles, and the midfielder coolly cracked the ball off the post to find a way past Kepa. Supporters at St. Mary’s went into pandemonium: the Saints were 2-1 up.