England great Alan Shearer has revealed that Arsenal’s lack of energy and effort in their recent 2-1 FA Cup quarter-final loss at Southampton is a cause for worry.
Earlier this Saturday (April 4), the Gunners returned to action at St. Mary’s Stadium and slumped to a second straight defeat. Viktor Gyokeres scored the north London outfit’s only goal in the 68th minute, with Ross Stewart and Shea Charles scoring a goal each for the hosts.
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During a recent episode of The Rest Is Football podcast, Shearer asserted that the Gunners have suffered a major dip in form after losing their latest EFL Cup and FA Cup clashes. He said:
“Definitely a wobble for Arsenal. I thought they were really poor (against Southampton). It’s understandable (after) you’ve gone to Wembley and got beat by Manchester City. But then you’re looking for a reaction. The lack of reaction would worry me if I was an Arsenal fan. There was nothing there and they were really poor.”
Shearer also claimed that Arsenal had fielded a team good enough to win their FA Cup quarter-final tie at Southampton, saying:
“There was mistake after mistake after mistake, particularly in defence. They had a pretty strong team out there. We’ve all been saying how great their squad is all season and it should have been enough to beat Southampton. Take nothing away from Southampton, they were fantastic from start to finish. They won every tackle, every second ball, deserved to go through.”
During their trip to St. Mary’s Stadium, Mikel Arteta’s side relished 64% possession and registered 23 shots. But, they only managed to create one big chance and just 1.61 xG against the EFL Championship outfit.
The Gunners will next be in action against Primeira Liga giants Sporting CP in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg clash on Tuesday. They will take on Bournemouth in the Premier League on April 11.
Arsenal eye move for 19-year-old
According to Sky Sports (h/t GOAL), Arsenal are hoping to sign Bayer Leverkusen forward Christian Kofane in the future. They could have to dish out a sum between £52 million and £61 million to rope in the Cameroonian.
Kofane, 19, is relishing a brilliant maiden campaign at Leverkusen after leaving La Liga 2 side Albacete last summer. He has scored seven goals and registered eight assists in 40 overall outings for his current club so far.
The towering striker’s current contract will expire in June 2029.
Edited by Debkalpa Banerjee
