Arsenal vs. Southampton FA Cup 4th round match thread: heading south

Arsenal continue their defense of the FA Cup with a trip to St. Mary’s Park to face Southampton. Ralph Hassenhuttl’s side have dipped in form just a bit from their torrid start to the season that saw them in the European places, but they’re still a tough out. The clubs drew 1-1 in December at the Emirates with former Gunner Theo Walcott opening the scoring, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang equalizing in the second half, and Arsenal hanging onto the point after Gabriel was sent off for two (extremely soft) quick yellows.

Arsenal have beaten Southampton all four times the clubs have met in the FA Cup, with the Gunners going on to win the competition the last three times they’ve met (1979, 2003, 2017). Somewhat surprisingly, the Arsenal have won 11 of their last 12 away matches in the FA Cup. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored in every FA Cup appearance (6 goals in 4 matches); Marc Overmars was the last Arsenal man to score in five consecutive FA Cup matches, managing it in ‘98 through ‘99. But the Gabonese striker will not have a chance to equal that feat today — he’s been kept off the matchday squad. One last interesting fact: Hector Bellerin has never lost in the FA Cup.

Dani Ceballos misses out again today with the same calf problem that kept him out against Newcastle. He should be back in the lineup soon. Pablo Mari is also out with a mild calf strain and is expected back in full training next week.

The Saints’ training room is quite full at the moment with Jannik Vestergaard, Nathan Redmond, Oriol Romeu, Moussa Djenepo, Michael Obafemi, Nathan Tella, and William Smallbone all out. Che Adams and Stuart Armstrong are both questionable for today’s match. Southampton will be boosted by the return of Danny Ings to the lineup following a positive COVID-19 test a few weeks ago.

Arsenal - Leno, Bellerin, Holding, Gabriel, Cedric, Elneny, Xhaka, Pepe, Willian, Martinelli, Nketiah

Southampton - Forster, Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Stephens, Bertrand, Diallo, Ward-Prouse, Armstrong, Walcott, Ings, Adams

WHAT: Arsenal at Southampton, FA Cup 4th Round
WHERE: St. Mary’s Park
WHEN: Saturday, January 23rd 4:15 AM PT | 7:15 AM ET | 12:15 PM BT
US TV: Streaming on ESPN+ ($$$).

For all your international streaming needs, check LiveSoccerTV.com. Please do not discuss or share links to illegal streams here.

The Short Fuse has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links.