Ben Fisher at St Mary's Stadium

League leaders fall to late strike in FA Cup ‘I love my players. I’m not going to criticise’ Mikel Arteta vowed to defend his players “more than ever” after a shock FA Cup quarter-final defeat at second-tier Southampton but the Arsenal head coach accepted his side must “look in the mirror” after successive losses for the first time this season. Arteta insisted “the most beautiful period of the season” is on the horizon, with a Champions League quarter-final first leg at Sporting their next match on Tuesday.

The talk of a quadruple always felt fanciful, quashed by defeat at Wembley a fortnight ago, and now, after being humbled by second-tier Southampton, suddenly Arsenal are left fighting on just the two fronts. A late Shea Charles strike earned their fearless Championship opponents, transformed by Tonda Eckert from relegation candidates into prime promotion hopefuls within six months, a ticket to play under the arch in the FA Cup semi-finals at the end of this month.