Southampton pulled off one of the biggest shocks of the FA Cup season as substitute Shea Charles came off the bench to score a late winner in a dramatic 2-1 quarter-final victory over Arsenal at St Mary’s.
Arsenal arrived on the south coast as strong favourites despite lingering disappointment from their recent Carabao Cup final loss to Manchester City.
But Mikel Arteta’s injury-hit side suffered another painful cup exit as Southampton’s spirited display ended their hopes of a treble.
The Championship side took the lead in the 35th minute through Ross Stewart after Arsenal failed to deal with a dangerous cross from James Bree.
Ben White misjudged the delivery, allowing Stewart to control the ball and fire past Kepa Arrizabalaga, sending the home crowd into wild celebration.
Before the opener, Southampton had already shown they were not intimidated by the Premier League leaders.
Léo Scienza looked lively throughout and nearly capitalised on a mistake by Gabriel Magalhães, only for Cristhian Mosquera to recover and block his effort after he rounded Kepa.
Arsenal gradually grew into the contest, with Martin Odegaard forcing Daniel Peretz into a save and later dragging another effort wide.
Kai Havertz and teenage sensation Max Dowman also threatened, but Southampton held firm.
The Saints nearly doubled their advantage in the second half when Scienza curled a superb effort against the crossbar after cutting inside from the left.
Arteta responded with changes, and one of the substitutes helped Arsenal get back on level terms in the 68th minute. Gabriel threaded a pass through to Havertz, who pulled the ball back for Viktor Gyökeres to finish smartly and make it 1-1.
As Arsenal pushed for a winner, Southampton remained dangerous on the counterattack. Gabriel’s injury forced Arteta into another defensive reshuffle, while Martinelli and Dowman both came close to giving the visitors the lead.
However, it was Southampton who struck the decisive blow. In the 85th minute, the ball found Shea Charles inside the box and the substitute calmly slotted home to spark jubilant scenes at St Mary’s.
Arsenal threw everything forward in the closing moments, with Noni Madueke and Riccardo Calafiori both going close, but Southampton held on for a famous victory.
The result sends Southampton to Wembley for the FA Cup semi-finals later this month and keeps alive hopes of repeating the heroics of the club’s 1976 side, who famously won the competition while playing in the second tier.
