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Blustery conditions on the South Coast played their part as Arsenal lost to Southampton in the FA Cup but Mikel Arteta wasn’t having any of it.
The Gunners boss could only look on as his much-changed side struggled to deal with the Saints all night.
In the end, a Shea Charles winner was enough and Arsenal must now focus all their energy on Europe and the Premier League.
Of course, the weather conditions were tough at St Mary’s but according to Arteta, his team needed to simply adapt.
Who should start next to William Saliba if Gabriel Magalhaes is ruled out of Arsenal vs Sporting CP
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images Mikel Arteta says his team didn’t adapt to the weather at Southampton
This was very much a ‘good old fashioned cup tie’ and in a way, it was good to see such a competitive match.
Of course, the weather plays its part in these types of fixture but Arteta made no excuses for his side’s poor performance.
“The result and especially the way we conceded the two goals. We had so much dominance in and around the box,” Arteta said.
Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images
“We conceded the first goal in a very unusual way for us, the second one from direct play as well. We had two massive chances and needed to capitalise on that. If you make defending errors we made today it’s very difficult to be in the semi-final.”
“They are a very good side on a very good run and you have to congratulate them.”
Asked specifically about the conditions inside the stadium, Arteta said it was nothing to do with how his side played.
“You have to adapt to the wind, the injuries. You have to adapt to difficult situations in the season. Now we have to show what we are made of.”
Arsenal’s FA Cup exit made worse with injury to Gabriel Magalhaes
As if the cluster of injuries picked up on international duty wasn’t enough for Arsenal, we also lost Gabriel during tonight’s match.
The Brazilian went down in the second 45 and was then taken off in what looked like worrying circumstances.
To compound things further, Gabriel was then spotted heavily icing his knee in what could be a major selection headache for the Gunners boss.
At such a crucial point of the season, Arsenal can ill-afford any more injuries to key players and Gabriel is certainly one of those key players.
If he is injured and missing, then the performances of players like Ben White and Christian Mosquera did little to inspire confidence that they can replace him.
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