Arsenal were hunting a quadruple only two weeks ago, but a stunning FA Cup loss to Southampton means they are now playing for two trophies.
Arsenal followed up their EFL Cup final loss by crashing out of the FA Cup at the quarter-final stage, with Shea Charles scoring the decisive goal in a stunning 2-1 win for Southampton.
The Championship side took a deserved lead into half-time following Ross Stewart‘s prodded finish, but it looked like extra time would be required at St. Mary’s after Viktor Gyökeres came off the bench to score Arsenal’s equaliser.
However, Mikel Arteta’s Premier League leaders never truly looked comfortable in defence and, after they lost Gabriel Magalhães to an apparent knee injury, they were dealt a hammer blow by Southampton substitute Charles in the 85th minute, ending their hopes of a treble.
Gabriel Martinelli had a venomous effort headed behind by Taylor Harwood-Bellis, but Southampton did most of the early attacking through Leo Scienza, who had a penalty appeal waved away and failed to get a shot off after Gabriel’s mistake allowed him in one-v-one.
Daniel Peretz was equal to Martin Ødegaard’s 20-yard blast, and the Arsenal skipper then skewed wide from a great position after being found by Martinelli a minute later.
Peretz also denied Max Dowman as Arsenal dialled up the pressure, but the Gunners still looked shaky defensively and they fell behind when Ben White misjudged James Bree’s cross, granting Stewart time to take a touch before finishing past Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Southampton twice came close to doubling their lead early in the second half, with Tom Fellows rifling over and Scienza’s ambitious curler bouncing off the top of the crossbar.
It looked as though the hosts would rue those near misses when Arsenal drew level in the 68th minute, with substitute Gyökeres steering Kai Havertz’s pass into an empty net.
But after another excellent save from Peretz to frustrate Dowman, more sloppy play from the visitors was punished with five minutes to go, with Charles finishing off the inside of the post after another driving run from Fellows.
Martinelli and Noni Madueke missed half-chances to score Arsenal’s second equaliser, and their ambitions for the season are now limited to just the Premier League and the Champions League, having been on for an unprecedented quadruple only two weeks ago.
Southampton 2-1 Arsenal Stats FA Cup
Southampton Channel Spirit of ’76
Arsenal travelled to St. Mary’s having progressed from 45 of their last 48 FA Cup ties against teams from outside the top flight, also winning 14 of their last 16 quarter-finals in the competition.
However, Arteta’s side were coming off the back of a miserable defeat to Manchester City at Wembley, and their defence looked unnerved from the first whistle, with Stewart and Scienza repeatedly threatening in Southampton’s left channel.
While the Gunners racked up 23 shots to Southampton’s eight, they only narrowly edged the expected goals (xG) battle by 1.61 to 1.21, demonstrating their lack of penetration.
Southampton 2-1 Arsenal Stats
After beating Fulham in the fifth round, Southampton have now eliminated two top-flight teams in the same FA Cup campaign while outside of the top tier themselves for the first time since 1975-76, when they won the competition for the only time in their history.
The Saints wore a special yellow and blue shirt to mark the 50th anniversary of that historic triumph, and they can now dream of more Wembley glory after a famous win.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Southampton vs Arsenal stats from their FA Cup quarter-final clash at St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday 4 April 2026.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Southampton 2-1 Arsenal Post-Match Facts
Southampton have reached the FA Cup semi-final for the 14th time with this their first appearance in the final four since 2020-21.
Arsenal have lost back-to-back games in all competitions for the first time this season, while it’s the first time they’ve been knocked out of the FA Cup by a team from a lower division since 2021-22, losing to Nottingham Forest in the third round.
Southampton have extended their unbeaten run to 15 games across all competitions (W12 D3), winning seven of their last eight (D1).
Arsenal conceded 2+ goals against a team from a lower division for the first time since losing 4-2 against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup in January 2018.
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