Mikel Arteta vowed to defend his players “more than ever” after a shock FA Cup quarter-final defeat at second-tier Southampton but the Arsenal head coach accepted his side must “look in the mirror” after successive losses for the first time this season.
Arteta insisted “the most beautiful period of the season” is on the horizon, with a Champions League quarter-final first leg at Sporting their next match on Tuesday.
After Arsenal’s defeat in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City, the Saints prospered at St Mary’s to earn a place in the last four. Shea Charles, a second-half substitute, struck an 85th-minute winner after Viktor Gyökeres arrived from the visitors’ bench to cancel out Ross Stewart’s opener.
“I love my players,” Arteta said. “I’m not going to criticise them because we lost a game here in the manner that they tried. And the way they are putting their bodies through everything. Some of them probably didn’t even have to be here today. I’m not going to do that. I’m going to defend them more than ever.”
Arteta made seven changes to the side defeated by City at Wembley, with Kepa Arrizabalaga, Ben White, Gabreil Maghalhães and Kai Havertz the only players retained from the XI. “I don’t want to put any excuses around the players that are missing, or the players that are here with issues,” he said. “Let’s look at ourselves in the mirror. Accept the situation, reveal against it, and go again to Portugal with, again, freshness, with clarity and looking forward to it.”
On a disappointing night for Arsenal, Arteta confirmed Gabriel would be assessed after being forced off in the second half. The Brazil centre-back, who was replaced by William Saliba, did not report for international duty last month because of a knee problem.
“I think he felt something,” Arteta said. “I don’t know exactly what it is. We’re going to have to assess him. But obviously when a player asks to be substituted, it’s not good news.”
Southampton, meanwhile, will look forward to a first semi-final since 2021 at the end of this month but their head coach, Tonda Eckert, insisted focus will quickly switch to Tuesday’s Championship match at Wrexham.
“The reality is Championship football from tomorrow [Sunday] onwards,” said the 33-year-old German, whose side have now gone 15 games unbeaten in all competitions. “They [the players] can enjoy tonight and I will find a glass of red wine but we need to close the chapter quite quickly. The reality is we have a big game on Tuesday. The club has been craving a moment like this for a long time. We want to continue the journey as long as possible.”
