Theo Walcott netted a hat-trick against his former club as Arsenal thrashed Southampton 5-0 in the FA Cup fourth round at St Mary’s.
Despite recently booking a place in the EFL Cup final, the confidence from that fact wasn’t enough to prevent an absolute thrashing from Arsenal, with Theo Walcott bagging a hat-trick and Danny Welbeck scoring two.
Arsene Wenger watched on from the stands as his Arsenal side ran rampant over Southampton, with Welbeck netting the first goal after just 15 minutes.
He added another after the 21st minute mark, before Theo Walcott scored three against his former club to ensure Arsenal took a place in the last 16, and embarrassed the Saints -the team who dumped them out of the EFL Cup.
Walcott’s third was his 99th goal for the Gunners, a big achievement as well as taking the match ball back home with him to London.
Many questioned what kind of impact Wenger being in the stands would have on Arsenal, but if this game is anything to go by, they have nothing to worry about – although, they won’t be playing Southampton every week, and have a crunch-clash with strong looking league leaders Chelsea coming up.
Both managers made ten changes to their line-ups, but the Gunners’ understudies were a class above, outshining a Southampton side that had looked so strong just days prior against Liverpool.
The win will certainly give any disgruntled Gunners fans a slither of confidence at least, as we now look ahead to the business end of the Premier League season, but focusing on the FA Cup, many Arsenal fans will see no reason why they cannot go on and win the old trophy, and will have as good a chance as any of reaching the final.
Southampton will feel disheartened, but with an EFL Cup final to look forward to, and the Premier League table still to focus on, fans will feel they can still afford to be in good spirits.
