Home / Football Southampton 2-1 Arsenal: Gunners treble hopes extinguished as Charles wins it late for Saints Arsenal are out of the FA Cup after a late defeat at Southampton Written by Jon Fisher Last Update: April 4, 2026 10:05:00 pm BST 4 min read Arsenals season hit another major hurdle tonight as Shea Charles late goal saw Southampton advance to the FA Cup semi-finals courtesy of a huge upset at St Marys. Just two weeks after losing the EFL Cup final to Manchester City, the Gunners saw another trophy elude them as Charles netted with five minutes to go to settle an absorbing cup tie on the south coast.Ross Stewart had given Championship side Southampton a 35th-minute lead but Viktor Gyokeres came off the bench to equalise for the Premier League leaders in the second half. The game seemed to be heading towards extra-time only for Northern Ireland international Charles to fire past Kepa Arrizabalaga and send the home crowd wild.If that wasnt bad enough for Mikel Arteta, he saw key defender Gabriel substituted after sustaining what appeared to be a knee injury.Table of Contents1 Scienza threatens as Southampton make bright start2 Gyokeres gives Arsenal hope only to see it extinguished3 Charles applies late killer blow to ArsenalScienza threatens as Southampton make bright startSouthampton, wearing their 50thanniversary yellowandblue kit, started with the confidence of a side unbeaten in 14 games coming into tonight and they had the first chance after four minutes.Leo Scienza found some space down the left and surged into the area. He shifted the ball onto this right foot and could have taken the shot on but instead tried to manufacture some contact from Gabriel in search of a penalty. Referee Sam Barrott rightly waved away Southamptons half-hearted claims and the chance was gone.Max Dowman brought a save out of Daniel Peretz at the other end before Arsenal created another opening that saw Gabriel Martinelli fire in a shot that was heading towards the bottom corner before the intervention of home captain Taylor Harwood-Bellis.Arsenal were struggling to find their rhythm and Southampton had an excellent opportunity to take the lead approaching the 20-minute mark. Some uncharacteristically poor defending from Gabriel saw him mis-time a clearing header and the ball fell nicely into the path of Scienza. The Brazilian was clean through but, after rounding Kepa Arrizabalaga, took too long to get his shot away and Cristhian Mosquera got back brilliantly to shepherd the winger clear of danger.Martin Odegaards last start was against Brentford in February and the Gunners captain showed plenty of rust by wasting a great chance after 27 minutes. Shortly after testing Peretz with a powerful shot, the Norway midfielder was picked out by Martinelli inside the box but his shot hit his standing foot and drifted disappointingly wide.Arsenal were finally starting to pin Southampton back and Peretz had to make another stop to prevent Dowman from scoring from a tight angle.Just as they were getting on top, though, Arsenal were caught out at the other end.James Brees cross from the right ought to have been dealt with by Ben White but the England international got caught under the ball, allowing Stewart to cushion it nicely on his chest and fire home.Gyokeres gives Arsenal hope only to see it extinguishedArsenal tried to respond early in the second period but Gabriel Jesuss header was tame and straight at Peretz while Dowman saw an effort smuggled to safety.For a side with the best defensive record in the top flight, Arsenal had looked shaky all night and another error from Mosquera allowed Tom Fellows the chance to shoot at goal but his effort flew over.Arteta had seen enough and brought on regular starters Gyokeres and Riccardo Calafiori with Jesus and Myles Lewis-Skelly making way.Noni Madueke came on for Odegaard on the hour mark but not before Saints struck the crossbar with the impressive Scienza crashing a searing drive onto the woodwork with Arrizabalaga beaten.Gyokeres was one of the heroes of Swedens World Cup qualification with four goals in two play-off games and he came to Arsenals rescue, finishing superbly after Kai Havertz had cut the ball back into his path.William Saliba came on for the stricken Gabriel, who was instrumental in the leveller with a brilliant line-breaking pass for Havertz, and was busy immediately as Arsenal struggled to clear Fellows teasing cross.Charles applies late killer blow to ArsenalThe stage seemed set for a grandstand finish from Arsenal similar to many they have produced this season.But, this time, the boot was on the other foot. Fellows led a swift break before cutting inside and slipping a pass to Charles and he showed commendable composure to guide a right-footed finish past Arrizabalaga.Arsenal looked shellshocked and their attempts at finding a second equaliser were half-hearted. They now go into the Champions League tie against Sporting CP desperately needing a win to get their season back on track. Topics: Arsenal F.C. Southampton F.C. Follow us: Jon Fisher Head of News Jon has over 20 years' experience in sports journalism having worked at the Press Association, Goal and Stats Perform, covering three World Cups, an Olympics and numerous other major sporting events. Read more from Jon Fisher
