Southampton dump Arsenal out of EFL Cup

Jordy Clasie scored his first goal for Southampton.

Southampton progressed to the semi-finals of the EFL Cup for the first time since 1987 thanks to a convincing victory over a below-par and under-strength Arsenal.

Goals from Jordy Clasie – his first for the club – and Ryan Bertrand secured victory for a Southampton side which inflicted a first defeat on the Gunners since the opening day of the season.

Manager Arsene Wenger, who has never won this competition during his 20-year reign in north London, had made 10 changes to the Arsenal team which beat Bournemouth 3-1 in the Premier League on Sunday and paid the price.

In Aaron Ramsey, Alex Iwobi and Mohamed Elneny, the Gunners had Premier League regulars in their starting line-up but without Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil the Gunners lacked guile and bite.

Southampton, who had only won once in their last 23 visits to Arsenal, deserved the victory and join Liverpool and Hull in the last four.

A minute’s silence was held at Emirates Stadium in memory of those who had lost their lives in the Colombian plane crash

During his tenure as Arsenal manager, Wenger has regularly used the League Cup as an opportunity to give those on the fringes of the first team an opportunity to play, and that perhaps explains why the Gunners have won only one of their last six quarter-finals in the competition.

The majority of Wednesday’s starting line-up had defeated Nottingham Forest and Reading this season, but Southampton were a different prospect – a Premier League side with a game plan and nous.

Arsenal’s £17m summer signing Lucas Perez started for the first time since the 2-0 win over Reading on 25 October, but was a peripheral figure as he and his team-mates lacked energy and urgency, especially in the first half.

Before the match, Wenger had said he hoped the victory over Bournemouth, which came following three successive league draws, would make his team more relaxed.

But while the Gunners marginally improved after the break – the introduction of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain adding pace – other than a long-distance strike from Ramsey and a second-half chance which fell to Oxlade-Chamberlain, the hosts did not threaten.

-BBC

Comments

Houthis Claim Attack on Central Israel in Response to Gaza ‘Massacres’

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has taken a concerning regional turn as the Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for an attack on central Israel. The group announced this as part of their escalating response to what they describe as "massacres" in Gaza amid the Israeli military’s operations in the strip. Details of the Attack The Houthis, a Shiite militant group with ties to Iran, declared that they launched missile and drone strikes targeting Israel. While the exact impact of these attacks remains unclear, reports suggest that Israel’s defense systems intercepted several threats over its airspace. This marks a significant escalation as the Houthis widen their involvement in the conflict beyond their typical operations within Yemen and neighboring Saudi Arabia. The Houthis’ Justification In their statement, the Houthis framed the attack as retaliation for Israel’s military actions in Gaza, which they characterized as indiscriminate bombings resultin...

Fire: UniJos Senate convenes emergency meeting on Monday

Fire at the University of Jos Library University of Jos is to convene an emergency senate meeting on Monday to review the level of damage done to the institution by the Saturday night inferno. The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Sebastian Maimako, disclosed this on Sunday after inspecting areas affected by the incident. The fire, which lasted for more than six hours, destroyed the Library Complex that equally houses the faculties of management and social sciences. The fire also destroyed examination scripts, books and very crucial materials. Consequently, the vice-chancellor said “the Senate will meet tomorrow (Monday) to take a decision about the unmarked examination scripts that were burnt.” On the cause of the inferno, Maimako said investigation had commenced, adding that “nothing has been confirmed yet. We are still investigating.” The vice chancellor said the school was already working with federal authorities toward establishing a main fire station since the mini fire station in t...

NDLEA arrests 252 suspects, seizes 3,073 kg Indian hemp

NDLEA operatives The NDLEA in Niger on Monday said that it had arrested 252 suspects and seized 3,073.9 kilogramme of Indian hemp(cannabis sativa) in the state. The NDLEA Commander in the state, Mr Joseph Iweajunwa, who disclosed this in Minna, said that the operations were carried out between January and September. “Our operations in Niger State from January to September 2016 led to the arrest of 252 suspects and seizure of 3,073.997 kilogramme of cannabis sativa,’’ he said. Iweajunwa said that within the period, the agency also seized 1, 530 litres of liquid drugs, especially cough syrup with codeine. He said the NDLEA also counselled and rehabilitated 90 drug addicts in the state within the period under review. The agency, he added, secured convictions of only nine of the suspects because the judge at the Federal High Court, Minna, went on leave. “ Now that the judge has resumed more suspects will be tried,’’ he said. He advised motorists, especially commercial vehicle dri...

Global Naija Info

Search This Blog