Arsenal, the fourteen times record FA holder, saw their 2020/2021 come to an end on Saturday courtesy of defender Gabriel’s first-half own goal, gifting Southampton their first FA Cup win over Arsenal at the fifth attempt.
The Saints started on a high attacking note and soon got rewarded in the 24th minute when Gabriel put Kyle Walker-Peters’ cross into the back of the end in Arsenal’s half of the pitch.
The first Arsenal goal had conceded in 508 minutes as they suffered an early loss in seven matches.
Mikel Arteta’s men failed to impact the game and had to pay for their lackluster performance with an exit, which happens to be the third in the past four seasons that Arsenal has failed to make it to the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Southampton has eliminated the holders from the competition for the first time since beating Tottenham in a replay in 1902.
The Saints will square up against Wolves in the fifth round of the competition slated for February.
While Arsenal will be looking to take a pound of flash when they meet Southampton again on Tuesday for their Premier League encounter.
