10 hours ago
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With 84 and a half minutes on the clock, Mikel Arteta presumably suspected Viktor Gyökeres, one of his substitutes, had taken an absorbing FA Cup tie to extra time. Gyökeres cancelled out Ross Stewart’s first-half strike, seizing on his first whiff of goal, but it was Shea Charles, a second-half arrival for Southampton, who earned the Championship hosts victory and passage to the semi-finals. Another sub, Cyle Larin, started the move, protecting the ball with his back to goal.
Charles, who was also involved in the buildup, calmly gathered Tom Fellows’ pass and found the corner to cue ecstasy in the stands. For Saints, just the fifth team to beat the Premier League leaders this season, the spirit of 76 lives on. For Arsenal, after suffering Carabao Cup pain at Wembley, this spelled successive defeats for the first time in a season that now really is at risk of unravelling.
Southampton’s players, as in previous rounds, starting at Doncaster in January, wore a limited-edition yellow-and-blue commemorative strip to celebrate the 50th anniversary of winning this competition at the old Wembley, when Bobby Stokes scored the only goal to immortalise Lawrie McMenemy’s side. Every now and then yellow balloons to mark the occasion blew across the pitch. The shirts carried only numbers – no names – on the reverse but Ben White, released by Southampton at 16, is unlikely to forget Stewart or Léo Scienza anytime soon.
Perhaps most frustrating for Arsenal was the fact Stewart’s goal, 11 minutes before half-time, started on the edge of their own 18-yard box. Martin Ødegaard, featuring for the first time since February’s north London derby win, surrendered possession with a loose back-heel and Scienza, the Brazilian welcomed back by the hosts, carried the ball towards halfway. Saints flew forward, now five v five, and when James Bree looked towards the back post he spied Stewart lurking. White completely misjudged Bree’s chipped cross and Stewart, after chesting the ball, dispatched a low strike past Kepa Arrizabalaga, one of four players retained from the Wembley defeat by Manchester City.
Southampton had quickly announced themselves as nightmarish opponents, Fellows haring at Gabriel Magalhães inside the first 60 seconds and a couple of minutes later Scienza scurried into the box. The game’s first big chance fell to Scienza, when Daniel Peretz’s kick downfield skidded off the head of Gabriel. Scienza was in on goal but by attempting to round Arrizabalaga he allowed Cristhian Mosquera the chance to intervene. Arsenal also wasted an inviting opening, an unmarked Ødegaard fluffing his lines after Gabriel Martinelli cut the ball back from the left.
Arteta handed the 16-year-old prodigy Max Dowman his third start and eighth first-team appearance, the teenager fresh from creating more headlines during the international break, when he scored a superb solo goal on England Under-19s duty. Noni Madueke was fit enough for the bench after shaking off a knee injury and entered as part of an invigorating triple substitution on the hour, when Gyökeres and Riccardo Calafiori were also introduced. Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, among the 11 Arsenal players who withdrew from international duty, were absent altogether.
All Gyökeres required was a sniff of goal to restore parity but before he levelled Southampton had chances to double their advantage. Fellows excitedly blasted over after intercepting Mosquera’s poor pass and then Scienza fired another warning, cutting inside White and curling a right-foot shot on to the roof of the Arsenal crossbar. But while Saints led by only the single goal, Arsenal were very much alive and when Kai Havertz ran off Cameron Bragg, the 20-year-old academy graduate, and pulled the ball back from inside the six-yard box, Gyökeres buried his finish.
Just as Arsenal sought to dial up the pressure, Dowman forcing Peretz into a two-handed save and Martinelli thrashing wide after a short-corner routine, it was Saints who found a second goal through Charles, the talented former Manchester City youngster who returned from Northern Ireland duty on Friday. Deep into six minutes of stoppage time Nathan Wood celebrated a goal-kick like a third.
