Preview: Southampton vs Arsenal - prediction, team news, lineups

Having had a fortnight to dwell on one dose of knockout misery, Arsenal seek a fresh start in Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final showdown with Southampton at St Mary's.

The Gunners made hard work of their fifth-round triumph over Mansfield Town, while the Saints edged out Fulham 1-0 to earn a date with the record 14-time winners.

Match preview

The English football quadruple remains an elusive achievement for all clubs in the land, as Arsenal's dream of winning an unrivalled four trophies in one season unravelled under the Wembley arch, where Manchester City deservedly reclaimed their prized EFL Cup crown.

An Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard-less Arsenal had no answer to Nico O'Reilly's quickfire second-half double, in what was arguably the most alarming display of bluntness from Mikel Arteta's troops yet, as Arsenal's agonising wait for a first EFL Cup crown since 1993 continued.

Nevertheless, a tremendous treble is very much within reach for the Gunners approaching the home straight, as they remain nine points clear at the Premier League summit, have a winnable Champions League quarter-final with Sporting Lisbon to look ahead to, and are just 90 minutes away from another Wembley appearance in the FA Cup.

Arsenal's 2-1 success at Mansfield in round five was very much a case of job done for Arteta's men, who have reached the quarter-finals for the first time since their last cup triumph in 2019-20; in fact, they have gone on to win the tournament on each of the last four occasions that they have reached the semi-finals.

The Gunners last fell at this point to Watford in the 2015-16 campaign, and a repeat one decade later would taste especially sweet for rival supporters, who have not taken kindly to Arteta's men dropping like flies during the international break.

Approaching five full decades since their last taste of FA Cup glory - having not hoisted the trophy aloft since their 1976 final victory over Manchester United - Southampton are the only team still flying the Championship flag high in the 2025-26 event.

The Saints are not the lowest-ranked team still in the tournament, however - that honour belongs to League One strugglers Port Vale - and Tonda Eckert's hosts have been demonstrating their top-flight credentials in league and knockout action recently.

Doncaster Rovers, Leicester City and most recently Fulham have fallen to Southampton's FA Cup superiority; Ross Stewart's last-gasp penalty against the latter propelled the South Coast side into the quarters for the third time in the last six seasons.

Eckert's men have since taken 10 points from the last 12 on offer in the Championship - most recently defeating Oxford United 2-0 thanks partly to a 35-yard Shea Charles wonder strike - to put their playoff destiny in their own hands.

A marvellous run of new-year form has seen Southampton go unbeaten in 14 games all told - winning 11 of them - and Arsenal's last FA Cup title defence ended at St Mary's behind closed doors in the 2020-21 third round.

However, Arteta's men bested the Saints twice in the 2024-25 Premier League to help send Southampton down, including a 2-1 final-day success in which Kieran Tierney scored an emotional last Gunners goal.

Southampton FA Cup form:

Southampton form (all competitions):

Arsenal FA Cup form:

Arsenal form (all competitions):

Team News

No fewer than 10 Arsenal players pulled out of international duty in March; some with noticeable, well-reported injuries in Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke, and others with unforeseen issues in Martin Zubimendi, Piero Hincapie, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber.

Expect Arteta to remain tight-lipped on their conditions in his pre-game press conference, but it would not be a shock to see all of them spared with the Sporting first leg in mind; the same goes for Martin Odegaard (knee), while Mikel Merino (foot) is definitely sidelined.

With no Madueke and likely no Saka, 16-year-old phenom Max Dowman will surely be given a shot from the start at St Mary's, where Kepa Arrizabalaga should continue in between the posts despite another EFL Cup blunder.

Southampton are not in perfect shape for the quarter-final either, as midfield metronome Flynn Downes and playmaker Kuryu Matsuki are both suspended owing to an accumulation of yellow cards, having been booked for the second time in the FA Cup at Craven Cottage.

To make matters worse, skipper Jack Stephens suffered a training-ground injury on Monday, and Leo Scienza was not seen at all as he continues his recuperation from a groin problem.

Ex-Brentford right-back Mads Roerslev (knee) is out for the season, while Welington (muscle), Jay Robinson (thigh) and Alex McCarthy (wrist) are also in the care of the doctors.

Southampton possible starting lineup:

Peretz; Bree, Wood, Harwood-Bellis, Manning; Jander, Romeu; Fellows, Azaz, Edozie; Stewart

Arsenal possible starting lineup:

Kepa; White, Salmon, Mosquera, Calafiori; Havertz, Norgaard, Lewis-Skelly; Dowman, Gyokeres, Jesus

We say: Southampton 1-2 Arsenal

While the statuses of so many Gunners remain up in the air, Saturday evening's contest falls into the unpredictable category, as a makeshift Arsenal side were given a brilliant run for their money by Mansfield.

However, Southampton have their own selection concerns to contend with and also have bigger fish to fry in the Championship promotion race, so Arteta's men should book their ticket to the semi-finals, although it may not be pretty.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.