Problems are piling up for meek Arsenal
Arteta faces some big decisions as highly-paid reserves are exposed by Southampton
SO there will be no miracle FA Cup win for Arsenal to rescue their season this time.
It’s Gdansk or bust for trophies, as the Europa League looms large on their agenda, with the Polish city hosting the final in May.
The FA Cup holders got precisely what they deserved here.
Ralph Hassenhuttl picked pretty much his strongest XI while Mikel Arteta tried to box clever and rotate. And given that these sides meet on Tuesday in the Premier League, that might be understandable, though Hassenhuttl clearly took a different view.
Yet what is not so easily explained is quite how comfortably Arsenal’s highly-paid reserves were swatted aside by a committed and incisive Southampton side.
Hassenhuttl’s team absolutely maximised what possession they had whereas Arteta’s side, given plenty of the ball, never seemed quite sure what to do with it.
And, if in doubt, the mantra a ppeared t o be t hat passi ng sideways would win the day.
It used to be the case that you pitched your youngsters into the cup ties and rested your senior pros. At Arsenal, it is the reverse at present.
It is the kids, such as Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka, who give the team impetus whereas highlypaid stars such as Willian and bigmoney signings such as Nicolas Pepe can’t make an impact.
This was a dispiriting day for the second string. Some might be forgiven. Gabriel, who struggled at centre- half, has had Covid and limited minutes. Gabriel Martinelli, who missed one glorious chance, is recovering from injury. Their time will surely come.
It’s hard to be as confident about Willian’s and Pepe’s career trajectories at Arsenal. Asked if supporters were entitled for more from them, Arteta did his best to defend his men. ‘ They’re entitled to ask f or anything but they try to give their best. Yo u could see how hard they are t r yi ng, with more or less quality, but the i ntention and the willingness is there.
‘This is what we demand them to do. And after the decision making, the final pass, the final goal, the opportunities they have, it is the end product and that’s the hardest thing in football.
‘We will keep supporting them as much as we possible can, as a coaching staff and as a club because that is what they need.
‘They need to keep working hard and try to improve their performances. I want to think positively and think that they are going to reach their level soon.’ The brutal truth is that without his first XI , Arteta’s team are tepid, always looking for safe options. Without Smith Rowe, Saka, Kieran Tierney, also rested, and
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was missing for personal reasons, they lack players with the drive to take risk and force the game.
Not so Southampton. Hassenhuttl was rewarded for being bold in selection with a dominant first-half display and a solid second- half when Arteta sent on his stars in search of t he equaliser. Alex
Lacazette, Thomas Partey and Saka all contributed to an improvement but Arsenal probed without any penetration.
With the last kick of the game, Eddie Nketiah, played in by Partey, might have taken it to extra time. But he swung wildly over.
From the outset, intent seemed clear. The free kick James WardProwse whipped i n after t wo minutes and his corner on four minutes, which saw Danny Ings’ header deflected wide, were a microcosm of the game.
Southampton, on the front foot, regularly driving at the Arsenal box, won a succession of set pieces which stretched the makeshift Arsenal defence.
Ward-Prowse hit the bar direct from a corner and Che Adams had the beating of Gabriel as he powered towards goal on 15 minutes and got his shot away, only for Bernd Leno to save smartly.
That said, despite a plethora of corners and free kicks, Arsenal almost took the lead on 16 minutes from their own set piece.
Pepe floated in a free kick and Martinelli found himself free, onside and in front of goal with just Fraser Forster to beat. But the Brazilian swiped, offering an embarrassing air-shot rather than a clean connection.
In the 24th minute, stuck in their own corner, Arsenal ceded possession. Indeed, as the Saints moved the ball quickly across the face of the box, Hector Bellerin and Elneny argued about whose fault it was.
Meanwhile, Ward- Prowse fed Kyle Walker- Peters ( left), who drove towards goal. Cedric allowed the cross through his legs and Gabriel, confused, stretched out a leg to turn it into his own net. It was a veritable defensive shambles.
As the final minutes approached, an intriguing cameo played out.
Theo Walcott committed a late challenge, aggressively on Pepe.
In days gone by it would have sparked a melee of players rushing in to defend their team-mate but it didn’t register a single complaint from the Arsenal team and no one confronted Walcott. This Arsenal team meekly accept their fate.