Arsenal sweetly takes revenge on Southampton in the 4th round of the FA Cup

The London team won 5-0 against Southampton in the fourth round of the FA Cup thanks to a double from Danny Welbeck and a hat-trick from Theo Walcott.

The duo Walcott and Welbeck took turns shooting. Photo: Reuters.

Goals: Welbeck (15', 22'), Walcott (35', 69', 84').

Southampton had just won a resounding victory at Liverpool's Anfield to qualify for the League Cup final against Man Utd. However, when they returned to their home stadium St Mary, they were easily crushed by Arsenal, conceding five goals.

Southampton have not met Man Utd yet but they have been tortured by a former "Red Devil" striker, Danny Welbeck. The English striker scored twice in the first half with goals in the 15th and 22nd minutes. These were all situations of Welbeck accelerating and finishing skillfully.

Welbeck's performance marked his return from a lengthy lay-off due to a knee injury. The Southampton game was Welbeck's first start since May 2016 and his performance will give Wenger a pleasant headache as he adds more options to his attack.

Arsenal almost killed the game in the first half with a third goal and Welbeck contributed by assisting Theo Walcott. In the second half, manager Wenger brought on Alexis Sanchez and immediately the Chilean striker shone with a double assist for Walcott to complete his hat-trick.

This was a memorable return to St Mary's for Walcott, a star who grew up in Southampton's youth system. Walcott played for Southampton's youth team from 2000-2005 before breaking into the first team and being signed by Arsenal a year later.

Southampton showed a weak performance in contrast to the match with Liverpool. Photo: Reuters.

Arsenal got sweet revenge on Southampton in the League Cup. Southampton was the team that eliminated Arsenal in the League Cup quarter-finals at the end of November 2016. At that time, Southampton defeated Arsenal 2-0 right at the Emirates Stadium.

Southampton can have little regret about their FA Cup exit. Manager Claude Puel made 10 changes to the starting line-up from the victory at Anfield. For Southampton, reaching the League Cup final was a great achievement and now they must focus on improving their 11th place in the Premier League. Southampton travel to red-light Swansea in midweek and this is an opportunity to take all three points.

Meanwhile, Arsenal have had their third consecutive win in all competitions and are full of confidence when they host Watford on January 31.

According to VNE