Arsenal receive £45m injury blow ahead of FA Cup tie against Southampton

Arsenal have received a fresh injury blow to £45m defender Piero Hincapie ahead of the FA Cup tie against Southampton next weekend.

The March international break is on the verge of being over. Southampton players such as Ryan Manning, Finn Azaz and Shea Charles who had important 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers to play are already knocked out of it. The other Saints internationals have one international friendly ahead of them.

All in all, the FA Cup quarter final tie against Arsenal is the most important game in the minds of every Southampton player. Tonda Eckert’s men have nothing to lose against Arsenal. On the flip side, the Saints can cause an FA Cup upset and deliver a memorable St. Mary’s evening for the fans.

Moreover, Southampton had a nightmare season the last time they were in the Premier League. A victory over Arsenal next Saturday can earn some lost pride and send a statement of intent to the Premier League, right before Southampton resumes the promotion push in April.

Arsenal receive Piero Hincapie injury blow ahead of Southampton

Arsenal have only lost 3 Premier League games and 1 in the Carabao Cup final so far. Beating Mikel Arteta’s side is thus, a much daunting task this time around as compared to the previous years.

However, Arsenal’s injuries might give Southampton a great chance to hand them their 5th defeat of the season. Yesterday, £52m Arsenal forward Noni Madueke was spotted in knee braces after going down in pain during England’s 1-1 draw with Uruguay.

The Gunners are already without Eberechi Eze and Mikel Merino too. Now, Arsenal are sweating on the fitness of another star player who might miss the FA Cup visit to Southampton next weekend.

In his own words, Fabrizio Romano dropped a fresh Arsenal injury update saying: “Following medical tests, Piero Hincapié leaves Ecuador camp and returns to London with immediate effect. Arsenal defender will be assessed by #AFC staff this upcoming week.”

£45m Arsenal star Piero Hincapie might miss Southampton game

Similar to Noni Madueke, £45m Arsenal signing Piero Hincapie also picked up a knock in Ecuador’s 1-1 friendly against Morocco. However, less injury details have been mentioned in Hincapie’s case meaning he might be in the running to compete against Southampton.

After all, 6 days is a decent time frame for a player to recover from a minor knock. If it’s a severe blow for Hincapie, then Tonda Eckert’s side can stay rest assured to avoid facing the 24-year-old defender at St. Mary’s. That would then leave Mikel Arteta’s hands tight over picking up his lineup for the FA Cup.

Like every Premier League manager, Arteta loves experimenting lineups against sides sitting in the Championship or below. He may have taken the Southampton meeting with a pinch of salt so far. The Saints need to capitalise on this factor.

FA Cup is known for upsets when nobody expects them, just like very few Southampton fans are confident the team will score first against Arsenal. Piero Hincapie’s potential absence at left-back can provide more freedom to Tom Fellows on the right hand side.

Not to forget, it was Fellows’ surprise run that stunned the Oxford United defence and gave an easy tap-in to Cyle Larin who doesn’t miss sitters like that. Tom Fellows finishing is awful, it’s not a debate. But what if the Southampton winger nets his first Saints goal against Arsenal of all teams?

Again, no Southampton fan will expect it but that’s where the magic of the FA Cup might kick in. How many Arsenal players will miss the Southampton clash, that remains to be seen. But the more, the better.