Arsenal’s hopes of an ambitious quadruple this season are now in tatters.
Indeed, at one stage this season Mikel Arteta’s Gunners were dreaming of a luxury four trophies, but now they are clinging to their hopes of two trophies after losing to Manchester City in the EFL Cup final and succumbing to Southampton away in the FA Cup.
Tonda Eckert’s Saints delivered an almighty shock at the quarter-final stage of the esteemed competition, with Ross Stewart and Shay Charles leading the Championship side to a memorable victory at the expense of the Premier League leaders.
Too many Arsenal players made unconvincing shifts at St Mary’s as the arrogant away side completely underestimated the lower league hosts.
Arsenal’s biggest underachiever vs. Saints
Eckert and his team were greeted with applause when the final whistle rang, but Arsenal players and Arteta looked shocked as they trudged down the tunnel in the final moments of their 2-1 defeat.
In the end, it was a lackluster game across the pitch, with Stewart’s opener exposing the rustiness of Cristian Mosquera and last-placed Ben White, who watched on as the Scot drove home the opener.
Arsenal’s No. 4, who won just one game in the all-night duel, will not look back on this trip to the south coast with much fondness.
Furthermore, Gabriel Jesus is certain to move from North London in the near future, as he could only force his way into Daniel Peretz’s goal twice throughout the match.
To make matters worse, Victor Gokeres, who must have looked a bit tired from international duty, managed to score a goal after just 30 minutes of playing, and that’s when Jesus was saved from the predicament.
Max Dauman was a rare shining light for the Gunners, with the classy 16-year-old pulling off five silky dribbles, but his energy alone wasn’t enough to prevent them from being upset in the cup.
Arteta will no doubt continue to opt for the lively No. 56 shirt, but he should forget about using a player who is becoming the second Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Arsenal’s new signing Zinchenko
When Zinchenko first joined Arsenal from Manchester City, it was fun to watch him play as a unique reverse full-back in Arteta’s set-up.
In his debut season in North London, the Ukrainian displayed unerring composure with the ball at his feet and did his job with class, as evidenced by his average passing accuracy of 88% in 2022/23.
However, over time, the 29-year-old struggled to establish himself in the left-back position, exposing his weaknesses in possession. In fact, Arsenal’s last season in the Premier League in red saw them win just 1.6 games per league match, leading to their relegation.
Miles Lewis-Skelly could suffer the same fate. The former Ian Wright-defunct Arsenal defender “astonished” with his ability on the ball, with an impressive 94% passing accuracy amassed in the top flight last season, but looked weak and lacking in confidence against the Championship hosts.
Lewis Skelly vs Southampton | |
|---|---|
status | lewis skelly |
Play time (minutes) | 60 |
Number of points scored | 0 |
assist | 0 |
touch | 36 |
shot | 0 |
exact path | 25/28 (89%) |
key pass | 1 |
accurate cross | 0/1 |
dribbling success | 1/1 |
tackle win | 0 |
Total number of duels won | 3/4 |
Another strong showing was the unstable 19-year-old, who has only started one game all season in the Premier League, and was unable to join the midfield as Lewis Skelly moved forward as he tried to eliminate Perez’s shots on net.
The teenager, who has only attempted one dribble and one cross and was once described as Arsenal’s “future captain” by Arsenal club official Mr Hand, now appears to be lost in an opposite full-back role, although a midfield role would probably be better suited to make the most of his versatile skill set.
Like Zinchenko, he looks like a million bucks both in possession and in midfield, but the real problem is when he doesn’t have the ball and is forced to defend. This confirms exactly why Arteta doesn’t trust him to start many games this season.
However, with the Premier League title at stake, Arteta is not willing to experiment that much, so the opportunity for him to start more often is unlikely to come soon.
Manchester United are reportedly keen on signing Louis Skelly, and the 19-year-old may need to leave his boyhood club if he is to succeed again. His lackluster performance was just one of many demoralizing results from a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat at South Coast.
He was embarrassed by Dowman: £45m flop must never play for Arsenal again
Arsenal were kicked out of the FA Cup by Southampton of the lower leagues.
