Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has called on his team to show a strong response after they were unceremoniously dumped out of the FA Cup by Championship side Southampton tonight.
Just two weeks after losing the EFL Cup final to Manchester City, the Gunners saw another trophy elude them as Shea Charles netted with five minutes to go to settle an absorbing cup tie on the south coast.
Ross Stewart had given Southampton a 35th-minute lead but Viktor Gyokeres came off the bench to equalise for the Premier League leaders in the second half. The game seemed to be heading towards extra-time only for Northern Ireland international Charles to fire past Kepa Arrizabalaga and send the home crowd wild.
If that wasn’t bad enough for Arteta, he also saw key defender Gabriel substituted after sustaining what appeared to be a knee injury.
Arteta baffled by poor Arsenal defending
Arsenal have the best defensive record in the Premier League but they looked uneasy all night, much to Arteta’s disappointment.
“The result and especially the way we conceded the two goals…” he said. “We had so much dominance in and around the box. We conceded the first goal in a very unusual way for us, the second one from direct play as well. We had two massive chances and needed to capitalise on that. If you make defending errors we made today it’s very difficult to be in the semi-final.”
It was a wet and windy night with Storm David making conditions difficult but Arteta did not want to look for excuses.
“You have to adapt to the wind, the injuries,” he added. “You have to adapt to difficult situations in the season. Now we have to show what we are made of.”
Next up for Arsenal is the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Sporting CP and midfielder Christian Norgaard says the players know they need to perform better than they did tonight.
He said: “It was at times a little bit too chaotic. They were very sharp in transitions which we didn’t manage very well. We had the momentum in the second half especially when we equalised and conceded a very stupid goal from a goal kick which we cannot allow or accept. Very frustrating for us, but already a big game on Tuesday and time for us to show what we are made of.
“There were times when we felt in control but there were moments when they really had us. Overall not good enough. But there were times when we could have enjoyed the momentum a bit more. Those are the moments when we should have been sharper.”
Eckert proud of his players as super Saints march on
It was a hugely frustrating night for the Gunners but one to savour for Southampton, who extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 15 games.
“We put in a good shift today,” boss Tonda Eckert told BBC Sport. “It was a challenge, we knew it was going to be a tough game. The second half always has the chance to shift and we reacted quite well.
“You like to have spells on the ball, we knew there would be situations where we need to move more than we usually do and compliments to the boys.”
Southampton remain in the hunt for a play-off spot in the Championship with their next game coming at fellow top-six hopefuls Wrexham on Tuesday night.
Asked if this win would give his side added belief in the run-in, Eckert said: “Belief is always there, it’s not been a problem. The reality is that the game is close. It’s going to be nice to celebrate today but we open up Wrexham and Championship football tomorrow.”
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