Arsenal eliminated in third round of English League Cup

Losing to Southampton with a score of 1-2, coach Arsene Wenger and his team had to stop early in this year's Capital One Cup.

The third round of the English League Cup saw many surprises as the favorites all had unfavorable results. Everton were eliminated by Swansea, Liverpool barely advanced after a penalty shootout and Arsenal were eliminated.

At the Emirates Stadium, the Gunners lost 1-2 to Southampton despite taking the lead through Alexis Sanchez. Dusan Tadic then equalized from the penalty spot and Nathaniel Clyne scored from long range to seal the win for Southampton. By eliminating the Gunners, Ronald Koeman's team continued their impressive run of form early in the season.

Domestic Cup tournaments are an opportunity for big teams to put young players on the field to gain experience and to rest the main players. Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger has thoroughly implemented this for many years.

In the match against Southampton, the team currently ranked second in the Premier League, Arsenal made 10 changes compared to the victory over Aston Villa last weekend. Most of the starters were young players, with only a few names that often play for the first team such as Jack Wilshere, Alexis Sanchez, Lukas Podolski.

Sanchez scored a beautiful free kick. Photo: Reuters.

Arsenal, with the home advantage, entered the game with confidence. The Gunners played the ball smoothly and created many chances to score. In the 14th minute, Sanchez took the responsibility of taking a free kick from a distance of more than 20 meters and completed the task excellently, not giving the Southampton goalkeeper a chance to block it.

After the initial excitement, Arsenal showed many inconsistencies because the team consisted of many young players. The coordination gradually lost accuracy and the defense made mistakes.

Southampton are now back in the game, taking advantage of their opportunities. After the departure of 5 key players at the beginning of the summer, The Saints have performed even more impressively than last season. They are behind Chelsea in the Premier League, playing a very effective counter-attacking defense.

Just six minutes after conceding the goal, the visitors equalized. Tomas Rosicky fouled a Southampton player in the box, giving Arsenal a penalty. Tadic easily beat David Ospina, on the Colombian goalkeeper's debut.

With 5 minutes left in the first half, the home team received another bitter defeat. Defender Clyne received the ball from a corner kick, he swung his foot to finish from more than 35m to seal a 2-1 victory.

Results of other notable matches:

Liverpool 2-2 Middlesbrough (Liverpool won 14-13 on penalties)

Swansea 3-0 Everton

MK Dons 2-0 Bradford

Sunderland 1-2 Stoke

Cardiff 0-3 Bournemouth

Derby 2-0 Reading

Leyton Orient 0-1 Sheffield United

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