Tonda Eckert insists Southampton have spotted ways to trouble Arsenal, with the Saints manager convinced his side can hurt the Premier League leaders in tonight’s FA Cup quarter-final.
Arsenal arrive at St Mary’s looking to keep their treble hopes alive, returning to action a fortnight after defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final. A Champions League quarter-final against Sporting and a league meeting with Bournemouth are up next, while injuries have left Mikel Arteta with enough concerns of his own.
Even so, Arsenal start as clear favourites. They have lost only four matches all season and remain the stronger side by any sensible measure. Southampton, though, come into the tie in excellent form themselves. The Championship promotion hopefuls are unbeaten in 14 matches and reached the quarter-finals by winning 1-0 at Fulham.
That run has plainly fuelled belief inside the home camp. Eckert was generous in his assessment of Arsenal, but just as clear that Southampton see opportunities of their own. “It is a great team,” he said of their visitors. “Rightfully every single manager in a press conference praises what Arsenal does and I can only continue that praise.
“It’s a fantastic team with many answers to problems that you give them, so the preparation was fun because there’s many more iterations of what you could potentially do.
“But I think we have found a couple of bits where we are able to hurt them and we need to make sure we bring that on the pitch. If you want to win, the pressure is always on you, and it’s for us to take that as it comes and make sure that we play a good game.”
It is the sort of confidence any manager would want before a tie like this.
Southampton have momentum, they have already knocked out one Premier League side, and their manager is not dressing the evening up as a free hit.
He believes there are weaknesses to be exploited and as many Arsenal fans know, he’s not wrong.