Southampton, a second division club, caused a surprise in the quarter-finals of the English Cup on Saturday by eliminating Premier League leaders Arsenal (2-1), who now see another potential trophy slip away.
At their St Mary’s stadium, the current seventh-place team in the Championship opened the scoring through Ross Stewart (35th minute), but were pegged back by a goal from substitute Viktor Gyökeres (68th minute) before securing victory thanks to Shea Charles (85th minute). Arsenal suffered a second setback following their loss in the League Cup final to Manchester City, their closest rival in the Premier League, before the March international break. The dream of a quadruple has vanished in just two weeks for Mikel Arteta’s team, who must now regroup to secure the league title and navigate their upcoming Champions League quarter-final against Sporting.
Gunners’ Defense Struggles
In the South of England, the Gunners’ defense was repeatedly tested, especially by forward Leo Scienza, whose shot was blocked by Cristhian Mosquera (18th minute) and hit the crossbar by Kepa Arrizabalaga (61st minute). Arsenal conceded the first goal on a counterattack when Ross Stewart expertly took advantage of a misjudged center from Ben White (35th minute, 1-0).
Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who usually starts in domestic cup competitions, failed to save Shea Charles’ winning goal (85th minute, 2-1). The visitors had several goal-scoring opportunities, but the opposing goalkeeper was alert, especially against attempts from captain Martin Odegaard (25th minute) and 16-year-old forward Max Dowman (29th and 84th minutes). There were also defenders blocking shots from Gabriel Martinelli (10th minute) and Dowman (53rd minute).
Only Viktor Gyökeres, well-positioned to receive a pass from Kai Havertz, managed to score for Arsenal against Southampton (68th minute, 1-1). The Saints will know the identity of their future opponent on Sunday.
