Mikel Arteta urged Arsenal to “show what we are made of” after their shock 2-1 defeat against second tier Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.
Arteta’s side fell behind to Ross Stewart’s first-half goal at a raucous St Mary’s before Viktor Gyokeres came off the bench to net the second-half equaliser.
Arsenal were well below their best in the absence of injured England stars Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, while Brazil defender Gabriel Magalhaes limped off with a knee injury.
They were punished in the 85th minute when Shea Charles steered in Southampton’s winner from the edge of the area.
Arteta admitted he was disappointed with Arsenal’s lacklustre performance, with their sloppy defending especially frustrating.
“We conceded the first goal in a very unusual way for us, the second one was from direct play as well,” he said.
“We didn’t manage the long balls well enough. We just let the ball through us. Difficult to explain but credit to them.
“We had so much dominance in and around the box. We had two massive chances and needed to capitalise on that. But if you make defending errors we made today it’s very difficult to be in the semi-final.”
Arsenal’s hopes of a first FA Cup triumph since 2020 — their last major trophy — were blown away on the blustery south-coast.
The Premier League leaders have seen their quadruple and treble bids shattered by a 2-0 defeat against Manchester City in the League Cup final and now the limp loss to Southampton.
“You have to adapt to the wind, the injuries. You have to adapt to difficult situations in the season. Now we have to show what we are made of,” Arteta said.
Arteta had described the pain of losing the League Cup final as like “a ball of poison” in his stomach and Arsenal’s woeful FA Cup exit will surely leave the Spaniard reaching for the antacids.
– ‘High expectations’ –
Arsenal’s fifth defeat this term marked the first time they have lost successive games in all competitions in the current campaign.
They have little time to lick their wounds as they prepare for a Champions League quarter-final first-leg at Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday before resuming their charge towards a first Premier League title in 22 years.
The north Londoners are nine points clear of second-placed City in the title race.
“In the season you have to go through periods. Some of them are difficult for whatever reason. Now we have two very disappointing results and we have to pick ourselves up,” Arteta said.
“It’s always been like this from the beginning of the season when the expectations on your team are so high.
“Nobody is going to set the demands and standards higher than us that’s for sure.”
Southampton’s memorable victory came 50 years after they stunned Manchester United in the FA Cup final, a triumph they commemorated by wearing a yellow and blue kit against Arsenal in their latest giant-killing as a second-tier side.
“That’s more a story for the media,” boss Tonda Eckert said of similarities with Bobby Stokes and the rest of Southampton’s 1976 heroes.
“We put on a good shift today. It was a challenge, we knew it was going to be a tough game. The second half always has the chance to shift and we reacted quite well.”
The Saints, who beat Fulham in the fifth round in March, are back in the semi-finals at Wembley for the first time since 2021.
But Eckert’s side have another Wembley date in their sights as they chase a place in the Championship play-offs, with a crucial clash looming at Wrexham on Tuesday.
“Belief is always there, it’s not been a problem. The reality is that the game is close. It’s going to be nice to celebrate today but we open up Wrexham and Championship football tomorrow,” Eckert said.
