Arsenal 0 Southampton 2: Arsene Wenger misses out on ANOTHER League Cup as his flops are booed off after being outclassed by Saints
Claude Puel's men outclass Gunners from start to finish in one-sided EFL Cup quarter-final encounter
ARSENAL'S youngsters were overpowered by a fine Southampton display at the Emirates Stadium.
Claude Puel's side got off to the perfect start when Jordy Clasie fired into the top corner in the 13th minute.
The Gunners had the lion's share of possession but never looked competitive against Southampton, who named their strongest squad for the match.
The Saints' seniors' superior fitness and experience showed with Arsenal never looking like getting back in the game.
When Ryan Bertrand struck in the 38th minute, the game was over as a contest.
The left-back arrived in the box at the perfect time and beat his man to beautifully slot into the bottom corner.
In the second half Arsenal tried to close the deficit but in reality things seemed more likely to get worse, rather than better, for them.
The best chance of the half came with fifteen minutes left when Southampton's Shane Long was played through but sidefooted wide.
And after marking his debut with an assist inside a minute, Josh Sims nearly made it 3-0 as he saw his long range drive turned around the post by Emiliano Martinez.
Arsene Wenger hasn't won the League Cup in his entire 20 years at Arsenal.
The Frenchman sticks rigidly to his policy of using the competition to blood youngsters and once again it has cost the Gunners a great chance at silverware.
BIG PICTURE
EFL Cup quarter-final results
Hull City 1(p) Newcastle United 1
Liverpool 2 Leeds United 0
Manchester United 4 West Ham United 1
Next five fixtures
Arsenal
3 Dec - West Ham (A) - PL
6 Dec - Basel (A) - CL
10 Dec - Stoke (H) - PL
13 Dec - Everton (A) - PL
18 Dec - Manchester City (A) - PL
Southampton
3 Dec - Crystal Palace (A) - PL
8 Dec - Hapoel Beer Sheva (H) - EL
11 Dec - Middlesbrough (H) - PL
14 Dec - Stoke (A) - PL
18 Dec - Bournemouth (A) - PL
FACTS, STATS, GOALS AND LOLS
- The League Cup has now had four sponsors since Arsenal last won it, against Sheffield Wednesday in 1993
- No side has used more players in the EFL Cup this season than Southampton (25).
- Jordy Clasie, who netted his first ever goal for Southampton, scored with the first shot on target of the match.
- Saints have kept three clean sheets in the EFL Cup this season; a joint-competition high.
- The Gunners have progressed from just one of their last six League Cup quarter-finals, last doing so in 2010/11 with a 2-0 win over Wigan
- Carl Jenkinson is putting his Arsenal career in more and more danger with every game, he had another dreadful night
- Southampton lost at the Emirates in the Premier League through a controversial last minute penalty and it must have made them seriously angry because they were outstanding tonight
- Arsenal's 19-game winning streak sicne the first day has now come to an end
- Ryan Bertrand’s four goals in all competitions for Southampton have come against London sides (Arsenal, Crystal Palace x2, and QPR)
- Southampton have reached the League Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1987, a fantastic effort!
DREAM TEAM RATINGS
ARSENAL: Martinez 6, Jenkinson 6 (Maitland-Niles 64', 6), Gabriel 7, Holding 6, Gibbs 6, Coquelin 6, Elneny 5 (Xhaka 43', 6), Reine-Adelaide 6 (Oxlade-Chamberlain 62', 6), Ramsey 6, Iwobi 7, Lucas Perez 6
Booked: Elneny, Iwobi, Lucas Perez
SOUTHAMPTON: Forster 7, Martina 7, Yoshida 7, van Dijk 7, Bertrand 8, Reed 7 (Hojberg 65', 6), Clasie 7, Davis 7, Boufal 8 (Sims 66', 6), Long 7, McQueen 7
Booked: Yoshida
Goals: Clasie 13', Bertrand 38'
STAR MAN: Ryan Bertrand