Just over two weeks ago Arsenal supporters were dreaming of an unprecedented quadruple.
Well, in the space of two games, that dream has been extinguished in simply dreadful fashion.
If you thought the Gunners’ Carabao Cup final defeat prior to the international break was bad, then their performance on Saturday evening was even more embarrassing.
Dowman-Arsenal
While it may not have been a cup final at Wembley, their visit to St Mary’s ended in tears as Arsenal were dumped out the FA Cup at the hands of Southampton, losing 2-1.
It was their worst night of the season, perhaps even their worst night of the Mikel Arteta era to date as a late goal from Shea Charles won the hosts the game.
So, what went wrong?
How Arsenal lost to Southampton
Arsenal were decimated by injuries over the course of the international break. A whopping 11 players pulled out their nation’s matches.
So, this was never going to be the best squad Arteta had at his disposal. That said, it should have still been enough to see off a Championship side.
It said it all that a 16-year-old in the form of Max Dowman was their best player. Selected on the right wing ahead of the injured Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke, the teenager was comfortably the finest player on the field.
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He completed all five of his dribbles - no player attempted more. His three shots were also more than anyone on the pitch.
While the youngster was unable to repeat his heroics against Everton a matter of weeks ago, he put a number of senior players to shame with a dazzling performance on the south coast.
Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton
Kepa - 4/10
Ben White - 3/10
Cristian Mosquera - 5/10
Gabriel Magalhaes - 6/10
Myles Lewis-Skelly - 4/10
Christian Norgaard - 5/10
Martin Odegaard - 5/10
Max Dowman - 8/10
Kai Havertz - 5/10
Gabriel Martinelli - 4/10
Gabriel Jesus - 5/10
His colleagues were subsequently all over the shop. On his return to the side, Martin Odegaard lacked all sorts of cutting edge, scuffing a ghastly attempt at goal wide from eight yards out when he really should have given Arsenal the lead.
It was the Norwegian who was partly to blame for the first goal too. Odegaard’s attempted back heel saw Arsenal lose possession. The baffling thing was that that event happened on the edge of the Southampton box.
The hosts picked up possession, went down the other end and then when Ben White misjudged a cross to the back post, it allowed Ross Stewart the chance to pounce, comfortably dispatching his chance to make it 1-1.
Viktor Gyokeres came on and changed the game, scoring the equaliser having replaced Gabriel Jesus who endured a simply shambolic night at the top end of the pitch.
He cut an anonymous figure and surely looks finished in an Arsenal shirt now. After his dismal performance at St Mary’s, it would be a big surprise if we were to see the Brazilian start again in the famous red and white.
Against the Saints, Jesus was dragged off on the hour mark having amassed just 29 touches and 16 accurate passes. He managed two shots, both of which were off target.
Gyokeres-Madueke-Martinelli-Arsenal
The striker’s ACL injury looks to have killed his career at the top level. He looks slow, he lacks that same technical ability that once made him a regular under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
So, in the summer, he must be one of the first shipped on. Still, he’s not the only one who should be given the boot.
Summer signing must leave Arsenal
For much of the season Arsenal’s squad depth has been celebrated as the best in the country. However, it’s become abundantly clear that the depth isn’t actually that good, they just have lots of mediocre options.
That has not been more apparent than in 2026 where Leandro Trossard has failed to score for the entire calendar year so far while Gabriel Martinelli has now not found the net in two months.
Gabriel-Martinelli-Ben-White-Arsenal
The same can be said of their options in goal. You may recall several years ago that when Arsenal signed David Raya, Arteta admitted he had two number 1s, that he might be inclined to make a switch in goal midway through a game if the moment warranted it.
Well, there is a sense of irony now to the current situation. Two weeks ago it was Kepa Arrizabalaga who mucked up big time, spilling the ball behind him for Nico O’Reilly to score from.
Arsenal-Kepa-Gabriel-Trossard-Carabao-Cup-final
His limitations in playing out from the back were abundantly clear, even to the point where Man City just didn’t even bother pressing, instead letting the Spaniard dally on the ball and lose momentum.
While the same extreme did not occur on Saturday night, Kepa was again questionable between the sticks.
He was particularly fortunate in the first half not to let Southampton winger Leo Scienza score. Gabriel misjudged a header which allowed the Brazilian in behind. He darted past Kepa who didn’t make much of an attempt to stop him but fortunately Cristian Mosquera was on hand to deny a certain goal.
It said it all about Jesus’ performance that the Spanish ‘keeper had four more touches of the ball and even if his 90% pass success suggests he was fine at playing out from the back, the fact of the matter is that many of these passing routes were very safe.
You could understand why Kepa played at Wembley a fortnight ago. He had played in every round of the competition but there was no excusing the same mistake here. This was a chance for Arsenal to immediately turn their season around after a long two weeks without football but they were let down by a number of their senior players.
Kepa-Arsenal
When the Spaniard first signed, it was not met with universal approval, not least because it was another Chelsea reject arriving at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal have been here before, notably with Willian, even Raheem Sterling, who had a disastrous one year stint with Arsenal, scoring just once and missing a penalty in the Champions League.
Raheem-Sterling-Nwaneri-Arsenal
Like Sterling, Kepa's career in north London must not last longer than a season. If this was Jesus’ final start for the club, then it should also be the goalkeeper's.
He has arguably been even worse in recent weeks, not just costing the Gunners a trophy but also floundering in their attempts to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
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