And then there were two.
In less than a fortnight, Arsenal have gone from hunting an historic quadruple — the Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Champions League — to now contending for a double.
Their defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on March 22, which then led into the international break, has now been followed by a loss away to Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-final.
And, perhaps more alarmingly, there now appears to be a blueprint to beat this Arsenal team: attack them.
Since August, Mikel Arteta’s side have been criticised for their style of football, built on a solid defence, while also being excellent at set pieces. But when most teams they line up against are more than happy to stick every outfield player behind the ball, there is little scope for creativity.
Their matches can become a battle of attrition; Arsenal pounding down the opposition, often until they finally relent. It has not always been fancy, but it has been very effective — and they remain nine points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League and in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
But as Southampton’s South Coast neighbours Bournemouth showed, even in a 3-2 defeat in January — and it is worth noting Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola was at St Mary’s on Saturday to scout the league leaders before their Premier League game on Saturday — if you are brave enough to put Arsenal under some pressure, they can be vulnerable.
That is exactly what Manchester City did at Wembley two weeks ago when Arsenal lost 2-0. On Saturday night, it was Southampton’s turn — and, on Tuesday evening, you fully expect Sporting CP to attack them, too, in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie in Lisbon.
The seventh-best team in the Championship, albeit a side in form and who were excellent on the night, going up against Arteta’s side was seen by some as an easy route through to the semi-finals for the north London team. Yet it proved to be anything but.
Southampton were excellent, taking the game to Arsenal (Warren Little/Getty Images)
From the first minute to the 96th, Arsenal were second best. And not because they were off the pace or starting with a team missing several first-team regulars, but because Southampton suffocated them at every opportunity. Unlike so many other teams Arsenal have played this season, they did not sit back. Max Dowman, the 16-year-old who is breaking records for Arsenal this season, was a rare bright spark on a disappointing night.
Southampton were direct and took a deserved lead when Martin Odegaard’s back-heel was intercepted by Leo Scienza, who carried the ball from his penalty box to just outside Arsenal’s before slipping a pass to James Bree. He then crossed it towards Ross Stewart, Ben White misjudged it on a night he would rather forget, and Stewart struck it past Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Even after Viktor Gyokeres came on at the hour mark and scored eight minutes later, Southampton still did not sit back; they continued to be direct. And as a consequence, Shea Charles scored late on to send Southampton to Wembley for a semi-final and Arsenal back to north London with plenty to ponder.
“Someone has to take responsibility,” Arteta said in his post-match press conference. “That’s me, and we have the most beautiful period of the season ahead of us. If this is a difficult period, I believe there are many other ones that are much more difficult. So stand up, make yourself comfortable, and deliver like we’ve been doing all season.”
Arteta is right to offer some perspective on what, minus the last two weeks, has been a brilliant campaign.
Arsenal are nine points clear in the league (although City have a game in hand and they will play each other at the Etihad on April 19) and many will tip them to beat Sporting over two legs in the Champions League.
But after two disappointing — or even demoralising — defeats, Arteta will need to galvanise his squad to get them back on track.
Between August and mid-March, they have been excellent. They cannot, and likely will not, let this shape the most important part of the campaign, especially with so much at stake.
Dowman was a rare bright spark for Arsenal against Southampton (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
“Giving them clarity, giving more conviction, trusting our players, believing in what we are doing,” Arteta said when asked how he stops the last two defeats from becoming a rot. “And continue to do that with the tweaks that every game demands. But especially maintaining the speed, the attitude and the energy at the highest possible level. Because that’s critical to perform at the level that we need to win matches.”
They were without key players for the Southampton tie, in particular Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, and they still had moments where they should have capitalised on the pressure they were putting the Championship side under.
“Let’s look at ourselves in the mirror,” Arteta defiantly added. “Accept the situation, and go again to Portugal with, again, freshness, with clarity and looking forward to it.”
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