Anger fuelled Arsenal’s revenge against Southampton
Admin Pat
Arsenal tamely bowed out of the FA Cup to Southampton on Saturday, but with five changes and a much better team on the pitch, we played a brilliant game to get sweet revenge on the Saints.
Rob Holding was playing his 100th game for the Gunners, but all he was worried about was getting revenge on the Saints after being dumped out of the Cup.
He told Arsenal.com after the game: “We were disappointed to concede from a set-piece and it was something we looked at after the game on Saturday,”
“We saw the edge as a weakness of ours and they exploited it, so it’s a bitter one to take, but after the weekend we knew we wanted to get them back because they celebrated and we were disappointed to go out of the FA Cup. It was a good bit of revenge.
“We were angry about the weekend’s result and we wanted to get back at them, so everyone was fired up for it. We came out the blocks straight away and Laca was unlucky in the first minute straight through on goal. But he got his goal towards the end which made him happy, and his effort and work rate was top today, so he deserved the goal.
“I actually had no idea [about the 100th appearance],” Holding added. “I was going in the tunnel before coming out to do press and Dan told me I had joined the 100 club, so it’s a proud moment for me and my family. Here’s to another 100!”
Well we must congratulate Holding on this landmark, and it has taken five years of resilience and determination for him to finally become a mainstay in the first team, but I am absolutely certain that he will now go on and become a club legend. It is hard to believe that he is only 25, but having recently signed a new contract, I can see Rob staying at Arsenal for the rest of his career.
I just hope that Holding (and the rest of the team) can be just a angry when they play Man United next week! We may not be looking for revenge against United, but can anyone remember when we last did the double over them?