Arsenal vs Southampton Timeline & H2H Stats

It would be untrue to suggest that Arsenal and Southampton is some massive derby in which supporters of the two teams generally hate each other. Having said that, the Gunners have enjoyed some big games against the South coast side, including a prolonged period where the Londoners didn’t lost a home game against the Saints. It was Southampton that Arsenal defeated at the start of the club’s 49-game unbeaten run that included them winning the Premier League title without losing a match, repeating a trick that only Preston North End had managed in England at the time that the Gunners pulled it off.

That run also included an FA Cup final between the two sides, which was closer than the league match had been ten days prior. It was in the FA Cup that the two teams faced one another for the first time. That was back in 1927 when Arsenal played the Saints at Stamford Bridge and defeated them 2-1, but it took nearly 40 years for them to go head-to-head again. That’s how long the sides remained in different leagues to one another, with the Gunners winning their first two encounters but then losing their next three. Add into that that a few players have played for both clubs and you can see why it isn’t the fiercest rivalry in the world.

Arsenal, Southampton & the FA Cup

If there is one area where Arsenal and Southampton have faced off against one another in some important moments then it is the FA Cup. It was the 26th of March 1927 when the two sides met for the first time, thanks to the fact that the FA Cup draw threw them together. The Gunners had defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers in the quarter-final whilst Southampton had needed a replay to get past Millwall and set up their semi-final meeting. Arsenal and Southampton played one another at the neutral venue of Stamford Bridge, with goals from Joe Hulme and Charles Buchan enough to send the London side through.

That wasn’t one of the years that Arsenal won the trophy, needing to wait another three years for their first success in the famous old competition. Interestingly, the next time that the sides met in the FA Cup was in the 1978-1979 season, with the Gunners requiring a replay to make it past the South coast side in the quarter-final. They then defeated Wolves in the semi-final in something of a reverse of 52 years before, then beat Manchester United in the final to lift the cup. The next time that they met in the FA Cup was in the final of the competition in 2003, with Arsenal running out 1-0 winners after winning 6-1 in the Premier League ten days before.

Arsenal’s Full Match History Against Southampton