Ralph Hassenhutl’s Southampton side has knocked the FA Cup’s defending champions Arsenal from the tournament. Gabriel’s own goal from the Walker-Peters’ shot gave the Saints their deserving lead in the first half of the game.
In the next round, Southampton will now play against Wolverhampton at Molineux in February.
Both teams started their FA Cup fixture with few rotations in their respective starting XIs. The main positive note for Southampton side was the return of their clinical striker Danny Ings. Southampton started the first half with a positive character and asked a few questions before finally getting a goal in the 24th minute.
Captain James Ward-Prowse and Che Adams troubled the Arsenal’s German goalkeeper on multiple occasions as well. As the home side kept trying to make things happen, eventually Kyle Walker-Peters’s low cross was deflected by Arsenal’s defender Gabriel into his own net.
As for the London side, their one decent chance came in the first half during Eddie Nketiah’s clever free-kick. In the second half, Mikel Arteta’s team looked better after the introductions of Bukayo Saka and Thomas Partey. However, Saints’ goalkeeper Fraser Forster was alert enough throughout the whole game.
Ralph Hassenhutl and Mikel Arteta’s thoughts on the match
The Austrian manager of Southampton started his interview by praising his team’s performance in the first half. He added that they had more punch and power in the first half. As the Saints’ coach went on praising the team’s performance and discipline, he lastly added a fair point by mentioning that his team players should find the second goal as well.
Mikel Arteta congratulated the Southampton side and mentioned his disappointment from losing the game. He admitted that his team struggled through the whole first half. Moreover, the Arsenal manager also gave us some transfer hints as he added that the club is looking in the market to see what else they can do.