West Ham United lost against Arsenal in the FA Cup last month.
Southampton were always going to find it tough against Arsenal in the FA Cup. The Saints took on the North London outfit in the fourth round of the prestigious cup competition at St. Mary’s Stadium last month and suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat. Danny Welbeck scored twice for the Gunners, while Theo Walcott bagged a hat-trick.
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The Saints did not field their strongest available team against Arsenal. Manager Claude Puel did not include the likes of Oriol Romeu and Ryan Bertrand in his starting lineup. The FA Cup has lost its old charm and importance in recent years due to teams not taking it seriously enough.
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West Ham United vice-chairman Karren Brady has criticised Puel for not fielding his best available team against Arsenal in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
“Southampton last won the FA Cup 41 years ago – yet with the abandon of a kid feeding the birds, Claude Puel chucks away their chance,” Brady wrote in her football diary in The Sun. “The manager makes ten changes to his team who then crash 5-0 at home to Arsenal.
“Puel says he ‘would do the same thing again’. But I rather agree with Alan Shearer, Puel’s mass changes isn’t fair to fans or players with a chance of winning the Cup.”
Southampton and West Ham faced each other at St. Mary’s Stadium earlier today. It was the Premier League, and both teams fielded their best available lineup. The Hammers won the game quite convincingly 3-1. Andy Carroll, Pedro Obiang and Mark Noble were the goalscorers for the Hammers.
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