Alan Shearer believes it can be ‘incredibly tough’ for Arsenal to win the Premier League after their shock FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Southampton.
Arsenal, sitting top of the Premier League and favourites to win the Champions League, were expected to prove too strong for Championship side Southampton at St Mary’s on Saturday.
The Saints led at half-time through Ross Stewart’s opener but Viktor Gyokeres got here off the bench to equalise for Arsenal, who were dreaming of a historic quadruple just two weeks ago.
The momentum seemed to be with Mikel Arteta’s side at that stage but Southampton responded superbly and clinched a famous win through Shea Charles’ Eighty fifth-minute goal.
The shock defeat means Arsenal fail to succeed in the FA Cup semi-finals, having lost to Manchester City within the Carabao Cup final of their previous game before the international break.
The Gunners are still favourites to win their first Premier League title since 2004, leading second-placed Man City by nine points.
But Premier League record goalscorer and England legend Shearer has questioned the ‘mental’ impact losing to Southampton may have on Arsenal and their title aspirations.
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‘This is just not a fluke,’ Alan Shearer on BBC One as Southampton celebrated a superb victory within the FA Cup. ‘Victory went to the higher side on the night.’
Talking to Betfair, Shearer added: ‘After Arsenal got knocked out of the FA Cup, it can be incredibly tough for them, mentally, to go on and achieve what they need to realize.’
Shearer had earlier backed Man City to win the FA Cup following their emphatic 4-0 quarter-final win over Liverpool.
Guardiola’s side built on the momentum of winning the Carabao Cup by thrashing Arne Slot’s defending Premier League champions on the Etihad Stadium.
Erling Haaland returned to form with a superb hat-trick and Man City’s January signing Antoine Semenyo continued to impress with the opposite goal.
‘It wouldn’t surprise me if Man City won the FA Cup,’ Shearer said. ‘They’ve already got one trophy within the bag.
‘I don’t think they’re going to win the league. They’ll’t win the Champions League.
‘I do know they’ve got a troublesome draw, but I do think with their history and with their experience, they would be the favourites to win it.
‘Now they’ve got through the quarter-final against Liverpool, I believe they’ll win it.’
Mikel Arteta reacts to Arsenal’s FA Cup defeat
After Arsenal’s humbling FA Cup exit by the hands of second-tier Southampton, Arteta urged his players to ‘show what we’re made from’.
The Gunners begin a two-legged Champions League quarter-final against Sporting on Tuesday night before resuming their Premier League campaign against Bournemouth on the week.
Asked what went fallacious for Arsenal at St Mary’s, Arteta said: ‘The result and particularly the way in which we conceded the 2 goals.
‘We had a lot dominance in and across the box. We conceded the primary goal in a really unusual way for us, the second from direct play as well.
‘We had two massive probabilities and needed to capitalise on that. In the event you make defending errors we made today it’s very difficult to be within the semi-final.
‘Southampton are a excellent side on a excellent run and you will have to congratulate them. Now we’ve to point out what we’re made from.’
Saints boss Tonda Eckert, meanwhile, told BBC Sport: ‘We put in a very good shift today. It was a challenge, we knew it was going to be a troublesome game.
‘The second half at all times has the prospect to shift and we reacted quite well. The idea was at all times there, it’s not been an issue.’
Asked whether Southampton’s win was written in the celebrities on the fiftieth anniversary of their FA Cup triumph, Eckert added: ‘I believe that’s more a story for the media.’
Southampton, sitting seventh within the Championship, resume their play-off push on Tuesday night against Wrexham.
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