Southampton have reached the quarter-finals of the League Cup for the third year running and face Arsenal in the last eight.
Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse has urged the side to put things right in the League Cup after reaching the quarter-final stage of the competition once again, the Daily Echo reports.
A stunning goal from record signing Sofiane Boufal against the Premier League’s bottom side Sunderland ensured their place in the last eight of the competition.
Southampton also got to the same stage of the competition last season but were dumped out on their own ground as Liverpool were 6-1 winners at St Mary’s, and the season before they lost out to Sheffield United in the last eight. Ward-Prowse is keen for there not to be a repeat this time round.
He is quoted in the Daily Echo, saying: “We’ve got to put it right. You learn from that, but it’s exciting. We’ve got a lot of games coming up. Bring it on.
“It’s a chance to win a trophy. We want to be successful and win a trophy. It’s a great competition to do it in. We’re all clued up and we want to do well, so why not go and win it.”
They face a hard task to win their first trophy since 1976 as they were drawn to play Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in the quarter-finals of the competition. However, the Saints are no strangers to beating the Gunners on their own patch, having won there in the same competition two seasons ago, while they were unlucky to lose out to them earlier this season.
There are still some prominent names left in the competition even if they get past Arsenal, with both Liverpool and Manchester United stand-out names who will be favourites to win their ties as they were drawn against Leeds United and West Ham United respectively.
The Saints are in pretty good form and showed they can compete with good sides this season, even if they have yet to get a win on the board. But there is a tremendous incentive for every club when they get to the quarter-finals of a cup competition, as the final feels pretty close.
The past two seasons should serve as enough motivation against an Arsenal side that could make several changes. It will be interesting to see if Southampton can make it third time lucky.
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