FA Cup: Why Arsenal lost 2-1 to Southampton – Arteta

Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has bemoaned his side’s failure to deal with long balls as they lost 2-1 to Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday.

The Gunners were sent packing from a second competition within three weeks at St Mary’s Stadium.

Ross Stewart opened the scoring for the Saints, before Viktor Gyokeres equalized for Arsenal.

But Shea Charles struck the winner with five minutes left.

“We have to congratulate Southampton. They are in Wembley, we are not,” Arteta said on BBC Sport.

“We didn’t manage the long balls well enough. We just let the ball through us. Difficult to explain but credit to them.”

On Arsenal’s back-to-back defeats, Arteta said: “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.

“Now we have to show what we are made of and the way to do that is on the pitch and not here.”