Southampton 2-1 Arsenal: Gunners eliminated from FA Cup by second-tier side

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. 

Match Report

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 Gyokeres 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 Magalhaes 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 Odegaard'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 Gyokeres 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.

Data Debrief: 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 1.77 to 1.21, demonstrating their lack of penetration.

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.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

3' No penalty for Southampton

7' Dowman's shot saved

10' Martinelli's shot saved by defender

18' Huge chance for Southampton!

25' Powerful shot from Odegaard

26' Big miss by Odegaard

30' Max Dowman fires in box

35' GOAL! Huge mistake fro Ben White! Southampton 1-0 Arsenal (Ross Stewart)

61' Highlight from Southampton vs Arsenal

62' Jesus, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard 🔛 Gyokeres, Calafiori, Madueke

63' Southampton hit the woodwork

68' GOAL! Viktor Gyökeres equalizes for gunner! Southampton 1-1 Arsenal

72' Gabriel 🔛 Saliba

79' Havertz 🔛 Zubimendi

83' Match Event for Southampton vs Arsenal

86' GOAL! Southampton 2-1 Arsenal

Line-ups

Southampton XI: Ryan Manning, James Bree, Ross Stewart, Finn Azaz, Peretz, Nathan Wood, Harwood-Bellis, Tom Fellows, Léo Scienza, Cameron Bragg, Caspar Jander

Subs: Romeu, George Long, Cyle Larin, Cameron Archer, Samuel Edozie, Shea Charles, Joshua Quarshie, Jay Robinson, Nicholas Okeyunkle

Arsenal XI: Christian Nørgaard, Kepa, Ødegaard, Jesus, Gabriel, Havertz, Ben White, Martinelli, Cristhian Mosquera, Lewis-Skelly, Max Dowman

Subs: David Raya, Viktor Gyökeres, Martín Zubimendi, Saliba, Madueke, Calafiori, Ceadach O'Neill, Marli Salmon, Andre Harriman-Annous