Southampton advanced to the FA Cup 5th Round with a 1-0 win over defending champions Arsenal.
Ralph Hasenhuttl is clearly serious about an FA Cup run. He ordered out his strongest senior side, bringing Danny Ings back into the fold amongst a social media transfer crisis, while Ryan Bertrand started against his reported possible future club. It may just be if you’re fit, you play in the present, but one has to wonder what the starting eleven will be in the Premier League match versus Arsenal on Tuesday?
Southampton created the lone goal off a patented Hasenhuttl press. Stuart Armstrong pounced on Arsenal trying to build out of the back after a previously failed attempt to do so. The ball swung its way across the field, albeit after a poor Danny Ings touch, and arrived on Kyle Walker-Peters foot. The right wing-back tried to claim the goal, but his low and hard cross was deflected in by Gabriel who again put his team behind in a fixture versus Saints.
Arsenal gained their footing in the second half, with manager Mikel Arteta going for early changes. Fraser Forster wasn’t actually tested until after the hour mark, but Southampton predictably lost their initial fire and allowed pressure to sink them deep. The counter was on, in more than one occasion, but the Saints could never seem to get enough bodies forward in sync.
Southampton should have put the game away and Arsenal could have certainly equalised, but it ended without fireworks and the Saints moved on in the FA Cup with 1-0 victory. The rematch on Tuesday will undoubtedly feature some different faces, but how many will be the question? Dan N’Lundulu would be welcome to rest one of the strikers and Caleb Watts sparked a lot of joy with his performance against Shrewsbury. Before going to far ahead, here are the player ratings for the Saints and their 4th round victory!