On paper, this may appear to be a nightmare draw, but is that actually not the case? On Saturday night, Southampton will host Premier League-leaders Arsenal in an FA Cup quarter-final at St Mary's. To set up this glamour Easter weekend tie, Tonda Eckert's team beat Fulham in the previous round, courtesy of Ross Stewart's stoppage time spot-kick at Craven Cottage. However, this will be another step up in difficulty level for the in-form Saints.
Mikel Arteta's team may appear the overwhelming favourites, but the Gunners' record at St Mary's is certainly far from impressive.
Southampton vs Arsenal head-to-head record at St Mary's
- Southampton wins: 6. Draws: 5. Arsenal wins: 7.
Arsenal's victory by the South Coast on the final day of last season was only their seventh win in 18 visits to St Mary's. The Gunners were also the last-ever visitors to the Dell, defeated 3-2 in May 2001, with Hassan Kachloul scoring twice before Matt Le Tissier bagged a late time winner.
The pair's most-recent FA Cup encounter came during the lockdown season in January 2021 when an own goal by Gabriel saw the Saints progress 1-0, en route to a Wembley semi-final against Leicester. That was one of six home wins they've enjoyed over Arsenal since the stadium move.
Southampton's victories vs Arsenal at St Mary's
- 23 Nov 2002. Southampton 3-2 Arsenal. James Beattie 45' 59' (P) & Brett Ormerod 72'.
- 1 Jan 2015. Southampton 2-0 Arsenal. Sadio Mané 34' & Dušan Tadić 56'.
- 26 Dec 2015. Southampton 4-0 Arsenal. Cuco Martina 19', Shane Long 55' 90+2' & José Fonte 69'.
- 16 Dec 2018. Southampton 3-2 Arsenal. Danny Ings 20' 44' & Charlie Austin 85'.
- 23 Jan 2021. Southampton 1-0 Arsenal (FA Cup). Gabriel OG 24'.
- 16 April 2022. Southampton 1-0 Arsenal. Jan Bednarek 44'.
There are plenty of good omens throughout history for Saints supporters. Their biggest-ever victory over Arsenal came on Boxing Day 2015, a 4-0 annihilation of Arsène Wenger's team. This game is most well-known for Cuco Martina's astonishing outside-of-the-boot half-volley that, if you've never seen it, is well worth seeking out. To add to the goal's legendary status, it was the only one Martina scored in English football, now playing for Victory Boys in World Cup-bound Curaçao.
The Saints' most-recent win over the Gunners came four years ago, with Jan Bednarek the match-winner for Ralph Hasenhüttl's team. That also came on Easter Saturday, with the majority in attendance this weekend hoping to expirence a sense of déjà vu.
Victory would see Southampton reach the FA Cup semi-finals for the 14th time, doing so on only three occasions in 40 years. They won the cup in 1976 and were beaten finalists by Arsenal in Cardiff in 2003 while, as already mentioned, ousting the Gunners en route to their most-recent last four appearance in 2021.
Right now, Eckert's team are in terrific form too, unbeaten in 12 EFL Championship matches, winning nine of them. Their promotion push will be put to one side for now, albeit Tuesday's rearranged clash with Wrexham at the Racecourse Ground looms large, so can the Saints ensure that the 4,720 Gooners in attendance on Saturday night endure another miserable trip to St Mary's?