Arsenal’s FA Cup journey came to a painful end on Saturday after the Gunners were stunned 2-1 by Southampton at St Mary’s, and as Softfootball reported, it was another frustrating cup setback for Mikel Arteta’s side just two weeks after losing the Carabao Cup final to Manchester City.
For a team that once had quadruple talk surrounding them, this was a brutal reminder of how quickly football can humble even the strongest-looking sides.
Southampton struck first in the 35th minute through Ross Stewart after Arsenal failed to deal with a dangerous moment in transition. Arsenal pushed for a response and eventually found it midway through the second half when Viktor Gyökeres came off the bench and made an instant impact, scoring the equaliser to restore hope.
But just when it looked like the Gunners might force extra time or even find a winner, Southampton hit them on the break in the 85th minute and Shea Charles finished it off to complete a famous upset.
The defeat will sting even more because Arsenal had gone into the game with so much still to fight for this season. They are still top of the Premier League and remain alive in Europe, but this latest collapse has only intensified questions around their mentality in big knockout moments.
It also came with fresh injury concerns, with Gabriel Magalhães appearing to pick up another issue after so many Arsenal players had already withdrawn from international duty recently.
After the result, Arsenal posted on their X handle and fans wasted no time reacting. Tessy wrote,
stop avoiding trophies Arsenal,
while Bello mocked the upcoming European test by saying,
Let’s hope sporting doesn’t turn your attention back to the premiere league by Tuesday night… 😂😂.
Aryan added,
From Quadruple hopes to bottling 2 trophies in 2 weeks 😂😂😭 Legendary Stuff!!
One of the harshest reactions came from Fire, who wrote,
10 Arsenal players ‘injured’ their way out of international duty… just to fly back and get KO’d by Southampton in the FA Cup? 😂 Fake injuries for club, zero excuses on the pitch. Arteta’s miracle recovery squad couldn’t even beat the Saints. Karma called, and it’s 2-1…
Gods1st Son also joined in with,
We are winning the quadruple they said 😆 🤣,
while Emi Devil Tips questioned Arsenal’s title credentials by saying,
Arsenal with this form I don’t think they are going to win the premier League.
Still, not every fan completely gave up. Blaq tried to keep hope alive, posting,
Chin up lads, we can still win the premier league and champions league.
And to be fair, that is now the reality Arsenal must face. Their domestic cup hopes are gone, but the biggest prizes are still technically there to fight for.
Softfootball had also previously reported on Arteta’s reaction after Arsenal fell to City in the cup final, a defeat that already ended one trophy dream, and also covered how Arsenal secured their Champions League quarter-final place with a 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen, a result that showed the quality this team still has when everything clicks.
That is why this Southampton loss feels so damaging not because Arsenal are poor, but because they keep showing flashes of being brilliant, only to crash when it matters most.
Now all eyes turn to Sporting CP and the Premier League run-in. The pressure is rising, and after this latest collapse, Arsenal simply cannot afford another slip. Southampton exposed them. The next few weeks will show whether this team can truly respond like champions.
