Southampton v Arsenal – Fragilities at the back.

Morning all.

FA Cup quarter-final day today as Arsenal take on Southampton at St Mary’s. This is the 109th season in the history of Southampton FC, the club’s first season back in the Championship since the 2023–24 campaign, following their relegation from the Premier League last season. Pre-season, Will Still was appointed as the club’s new manager on a three year  deal but just like so many other football managers in the game, he was sacked following a poor start to the campaign. On 2nd November, Tonda Eckert stepped in as interim head coach then in December, his stay was made permanent. Southampton haven’t looked back since. Right now they are on a good run.

Saints have seen off Doncaster Rovers, Leicester City and Fulham to get this far in the competition. The winner against the latter came from a penalty in the dying minutes of the game. Fulham notched up 24 opportunities to score but only managed to find the target 6 times. Fulham had two goals disallowed, one of which was controversial to say the least but then when one considers it was Gillet officiating, it’s hardly surprising. The victory for Southampton really was a smash and grab story but it matters not. They won and they will be going all out to win again today.

I think Mikel Arteta must have been in a jolly mood yesterday, possibly because he’s just won the manager of the month award for march. Several questions were put to him, here’s just a few:

Will the goalkeeper tomorrow (today) be Spanish and have a name which ends in A?

I think tomorrow the goalkeeper is going to be European, he’s under 32, right-footed and speaks at least two languages. 

Will he rest players ahead of a big Champions League night?

We are in a position now that we are going to make the strongest line-ups and decisions that we possibly can to win every competition. We are two or three games away in the FA Cup and we know how important that competition is for us.

The importance of tomorrow’s FA Cup quarter-final: 

Huge competition, so related to the history of our football club. We’re going to play a team that is in a really good moment, they have won so many games recently, they’re in a really good moment. You know the expectations, the crowd, the environment that they are going to create, so we are ready for that, and we want to be at Wembley again, so tomorrow we have the opportunity to do that again. 

Noni Madueke will miss today’s game but he’s only expected to be return in a couple of days. Not such good news on Ebe Eze and there’s no timeline for his return and Mikel Arteta was unable to say what Piero Hincapie’s injury is or how long he might be out for.

A bit of better news is that both Jurrien Timber and Martin Odegaard might be in the squad later.

Southampton are without the suspended Flynn Downes and Kury Matuski. Mads Roerslev, Welington, Jay Robinson and Alex McCarthy.

Arsenal’s Adrian Clarke on what to expect from our opponents tonight:

Tonda Eckert is a head coach who wants to play exciting, attacking football and the Saints are largely doing that in the Championship, using a 4-2-3-1 formation. Moving away from the back three inherited, Southampton have become more fluid and front-footed across the past five months.

They are a possession-based outfit who average a 57.2% share of the ball, but up against us it is sure to be different. Eckert’s men will still try to play out from the back and go short through the thirds, but they will undoubtedly adopt more of a counterattacking strategy than usual. We saw that in the fifth round when they beat Fulham 1-0 with just 32% of possession, posing real danger on the counter. Leo Scienza, a left winger, is their best ball carrier on breakaways, so if he starts the Brazilian will be a threat. They also have the likes of Tom Fellows, an old school wide man who crosses well, and Fin Azaz, an attacking midfielder of guile, who will relish the opportunity to shine against us.

Set pieces are a major strength. Full back Ryan Manning boasts a superb left foot which can create chaos from corners, or wide free kicks. He is also capable of curling direct free kicks into the top corner too. Our quarter-final opponents have netted 21 times from dead-ball situations in 2025/26; an impressive haul which is only bettered by Championship leaders Coventry City.

Southampton can be fragile at the back. Giving up plenty of chances, there are currently 13 second tier sides with a better expected goals against record than them. Perhaps not the quickest in defence, Mikel Arteta may target them with our superior speed on Saturday evening.

Bearing in mind Mikel Arteta’s answer to the second question above, I think we can conclude from his answer that we’ll see a very strong starting 11 tonight. Arsenal FC has their name on this prestigious cup more times than any other club and I’d love nothing more to see the clubs name engraved on it again this season. Today though, I just want us to still be in with a chance to win it come 10pm.

Southampton might be a Championship club but they have caused us many problems in the past and they probably will again tonight. We have to be disciplined, focused and at our best if we are to reach the semi-finals. Don’t let Saints control the game because if they do, it won’t be Arsenal marching on in this competition.

Catch up in the comments.