Southampton vs Arsenal LIVE commentary: Kick-off time, team news and how to follow FA Cup quarter-final clash

Arsenal will be desperate to keep their hopes of a treble alive in the FA Cup after disappointment in the Carabao Cup final.

The Gunners were comfortably beaten by Man City at Wembley to raise doubts over their push for multiple trophies this season.

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Mikel Arteta‘s side may have missed out on a historic quadruple, but they remain in contention in three competitions.

They sit at the top of the Premier League and in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, as well as the FA Cup, having knocked out Mansfield in the round of 16 in March.

And it’s Championship side Southampton who stand in their way in the cup, with the Saints in fine form in the second tier.

They come into the tie having beaten Fulham in the last round, while Arsenal could be impacted by their final loss last time out.

Southampton vs Arsenal: talkSPORT coverage

This FA Cup quarter-final will take place on Saturday, April 4 and kick-off at St. Mary’s Stadium is scheduled for 8pm.

talkSPORT will have live commentary of all the action from Alex Crook and former Southampton and Arsenal winger Perry Groves.

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream. 

You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

Fans will be able to watch the game for free on BBC One or BBC iPlayer, while TNT Sports will broadcast the match too.

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Southampton vs Arsenal: Team news

Southampton will be without Flynn Downes and Kuryu Matsuki, with both players suspended for accumulation of yellow cards.

Meanwhile, key star Leo Scienza, Jack Stephens, Mads Roerslev and Welington are all sidelined through injury.

As for Arsenal, they could be forced to field a majorly changed team after 10 of their players withdrew from international duty.

Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Gabriel, William Saliba, Jurrien Timber, Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze, Leandro Trossard, Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi all pulled out of their national squads.

And on top of that, Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino are also sidelined, so Arteta is expected to have very limited options.

If all of the doubtful players miss out, Max Dowman could start, along with the likes of Myles Lewis-Skelly and Christian Norgaard.

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Southampton vs Arsenal: What has been said?

talkSPORT’s Gabby Agbonlahor believes multiple Arsenal stars should be suspended due to their withdrawal from international duty.

Agbonlahor wasn’t happy to see them pulling out, suspecting that they withdrew to protect themselves for the season run-in.

He said: “Madueke, no problem, you pulled out, you got injured against Uruguay, it was quite a hard tackle.

“I look at players like Timber, Eze, Odegaard, all pulled out because they didn’t play against Manchester City. Those four players, no problem with it.

“But Hincapie, Saka, Rice, Gabriel, Saliba, Trossard, Zubimendi had no problems against Manchester City. I just don’t think it’s right.

“If I were part of the Premier League and I was making a decision, I would bring in a new rule, you miss the next Premier League game available if you pull out of international duty. I tell you something, players will stop pulling out.”

“I get it, Arteta is doing everything possible to win these trophies,” Agbonlahor added. “Their next game after the international break is the FA Cup against Southampton.

“I’m just not keen on players pulling out of international duty. It’s an honour to play for your country. It doesn’t sit right with me.”