Report: Saints topple Arsenal to keep cup dream alive

Goals from Ross Stewart and Shea Charles gave the stadium one of its most memorable nights as Saints booked their place in a Wembley semi-final in three weeks’ time.

Stewart struck the opener 10 minutes before half time at the end of another slick counter after Leo Scienza had been guilty of taking too long to shoot from another promising breakaway.

Scienza hit the crossbar with a curling effort in the second period before Arsenal substitute Viktor Gyökeres levelled the scores just seven minutes after coming on.

But it was another substitute, Shea Charles, who had the final say, side-footing home a superb winning goal five minutes from time, as Saints continued to do justice to the heroes of ’76, 50 years on.

Tonda Eckert made five changes to his side following the 2-0 win over Oxford that propelled Saints into the Championship play-off places ahead of the international break, extending the team’s unbeaten run to 14 matches in all competitions.

Captain Jack Stephens, midfield lynchpin Flynn Downes and the tireless Kuryu Matsuki were all enforced absentees, with Stephens having hobbled out of Monday’s open training session and the latter two serving FA Cup suspensions.

Scienza and Stewart were fit to return, while there were also recalls for Cameron Bragg and Caspar Jander in midfield. Nathan Wood replaced Stephens at the heart of an otherwise familiar backline.

Leo Scienza had the best of Saints' early chances

Arsenal were in the news after 11 of their first-team players were withdrawn from international duty. Five of those were fit enough to be in the squad, including captain Martin Ødegaard and chief set-piece threat Gabriel, who both started along with 16-year-old winger Max Dowman, as Mikel Arteta made seven changes to his team that were beaten by Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final last time out.

An unusual Saturday night start set the tone for a raucous atmosphere at St Mary’s, and Saints fed off the energy coming from the Northam Wall as they attacked towards that end in the first half.

There were early counters led by Tom Fellows and Scienza both halted by Gabriel, who slid in to dispossess Fellows before Scienza jinked inside his compatriot but went to ground rather too easily when he’d already engineered enough space in the box to get a shot away.

Gabriel was busy again when his outstretched leg blocked Fellows’s shot after Finn Azaz led another Saints breakaway, but Arsenal also had their moments in a breathless first 10 minutes.

Daniel Peretz was sent sprawling to his right to keep out Dowman’s low drive, before James Bree and Taylor Harwood-Bellis, more impressively, blocked goalbound shots from Gabriel Martinelli. Harwood-Bellis, Saints’ skipper for the night, celebrated his intervention with a clenched fist.

The best chance to date fell the way of Scienza on 17 minutes following an uncharacteristic error from Gabriel, who misread the flight of Peretz’s long kick, as his glancing touch allowed the Saints winger to race through on goal.

With Christhian Mosquera nipping at his heels, Scienza again turned down the opportunity to shoot, but, in trying to round Kepa Arrizabalaga, he allowed Mosquera time to get back at him and get a crucial toe to the ball.

Ross Stewart fires Saints in front in the 35th minute

Peretz made his second save of the night to beat away Ødegaard’s 20-yard drive, before the Arsenal captain made a mess of Martinelli’s cutback, miscuing his shot when left alone 12 yards out in the middle of the penalty area as Arsenal began to take hold of the contest.

Peretz was backpedalling when Kai Havertz let fly from distance with a shot that looped up off Wood, dropping narrowly wide, as the Gunners continued to rack up more corners, from which they are so notoriously dangerous.

But Saints had shown their teeth from counter-attacks and that would prove to be Arsenal’s undoing 10 minutes before the interval.

Scienza led the charge, crossing the halfway line at pace and finding Bree, who spotted Stewart on the far side of the penalty area.

It seemed his floated ball would hang in the air long enough for Ben White to intervene, but the defender misjudged its flight and Stewart was there to pounce, taking the ball calmly on his chest and burying a low shot past Arrizabalaga to send St Mary’s into a frenzy.

Saints saw out the last 10 minutes of the half without any alarms, but did find themselves pinned back at the start of the second period, as Ryan Manning brilliantly blocked Dowman’s shot.

But by the hour mark Saints had worried Arteta into a triple change, as Manning’s teasing cross was headed over his own crossbar by Mosquera, before Fellows seized on a loose pass and blazed over with the best chance of the half so far.

Stewart celebrates sending St Mary's into raptures

On came Gyökeres, Noni Madueke and Riccardo Calafiori inside the last half an hour, but Saints came even closer to a second when Scienza opened up the angle to hit a curling shot from the left corner of the penalty area that clipped Arrizabalaga’s crossbar on its way over.

This was stirring stuff from Saints, who by now were firmly in the ascendancy, but it was hard to escape the nagging feeling that they would need a second goal.

And so it proved when super-sub Gyökeres, fresh from scoring four times in two games to send Sweden to the World Cup, levelled things up midway through the half.

Havertz’s clever run saw him sneak into the box unseen, found by Gabriel’s pass, before the German’s cutback from the byline was gleefully steered in by the in-form Swede.

Shea Charles steers home a dramatic late winner

Eckert had already been planning his substitutions before the equaliser, but made them anyway as Stewart and Scienza made way on their return from injury, replaced by Cyle Larin and Samuel Edozie as an absorbing cup tie entered its final 20 minutes.

With extra-time looming, Peretz added to his showreel of saves since arriving in January with a full-length diving stop to keep out Dowman’s curler, before Martinelli fired wide from 20 yards.

But this was to be Saints’ day. Larin’s hold-up play allowed substitute Charles to join in, playing the ball wide to Fellows on the right and continuing his run into the box.

When Fellows returned the favour with a square pass along the 18-yard line, Charles took a touch to set himself and simply passed the ball into the bottom corner, combining composure and accuracy to give Saints their lead back.

A nervy finale ensued, as Saints navigated a lengthy period of stoppage time, but this was a deserved victory and one that will live long in the memory of the capacity crowd that witnessed it.

Southampton: Peretz, Bree, Harwood-Bellis (c), Wood, Manning (Quarshie 90+7’), Bragg (Charles 76), Jander, Fellows, Azaz, Scienza (Edozie 70), Stewart (Larin 70).

Unused substitutes: Long, Romeu, Robinson, Archer, Oyekunle.

Goals: Stewart (35’), Charles (85’).

Booked: Manning, Jander.

Arsenal: Arrizabalaga, White, Mosquera, Gabriel (Saliba 72), Lewis-Skelly (Calafiori 61), Nørgaard, Ødegaard (c) (Madueke 61), Havertz (Zubimendi 79), Dowman, Martinelli, Jesus (Gyökeres 61).

Unused substitutes: Raya, Salmon, O’Neill, Harriman-Annous.

Goals: Gyökeres (68’).

Booked: Martinelli.

Attendance: 31,067.

Referee: Sam Barrott.