Arsenal’s hopes of winning the Treble are over after Southampton stunned the Gunners in their FA Cup quarter-final clash, as Shea Charles notched an 85th-minute winner
Mikel Arteta has told Arsenal to ‘adapt’ in the face of adversity – or they’ll risk going trophy-less this season. The Gunners saw their Treble dream die at St Mary’s on Saturday, as they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at the hands of Championship side Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Ross Stewart gave Southampton the lead before substitute Viktor Gyokeres equalised for Arsenal. But Arteta’s men couldn’t build on their leveller and conceded again in the 85th minute, as Shea Charles grabbed what proved to be the winner.
The Saints will now go marching on to Wembley after staving off another Arsenal comeback. Meanwhile, the Gunners have been left to wallow in their second consecutive defeat, having also lost to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final before the international break.
Arteta was forced to name a much-changed starting XI – albeit one with enough firepower to get past second-tier opposition – due to their raft of injuries and fitness woes – which worsened after Gabriel Magalhaes went off injured in the second half. The conditions also didn’t help, with the wind playing its part in Southampton’s opener, but Arsenal manager wasn’t for making excuses.
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The Gunners boss added: “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.”
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Asked if his team were surprised by Southampton’s impressive display, Arteta replied: “No, they are a very good side on a very good run and you have to congratulate them.”
The Gunners return to action on Tuesday, as they travel to face Sporting Lisbon in the quarter-finals of another competition, the Champions League. Arsenal haven’t lost a game in Europe this season and the pressure will be on in Portugal to continue their formidable run and get back to winning ways.
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