James Ward-Prowse urges Southampton to grab ‘great chance’ for FA Cup glory

James Ward-Prowse has urged his Southampton team-mates to win the FA Cup for only the second time in the club’s history.

The Saints will take on Wolves in the fifth round after they knocked out holders Arsenal with a 1-0 win at St Mary’s Stadium.

Southampton have not reached an FA Cup final since they lost to the Gunners at the Millennium Stadium in 2003, while they have won football’s oldest club tournament on just one occasion following a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in 1976.

“It’s a great competition to be in, one that I’ve got a lot of good memories with and played some memorable games in,” said skipper Ward-Prowse, 26, after Gabriel’s own goal had settled the fourth round tie.

“We all want to win silverware, look back at the end of our careers and see the things that we’ve won and this is a great opportunity to go on to do that.”

The Saints will have the chance to make it two wins in three days over Mikel Arteta’s side when they host the Gunners in the Premier League on Tuesday evening.

The two teams played out a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium last month, and they will head into the reverse fixture separated by two points. Southampton sit a place above Arsenal in 10th having played one game less.

Ward-Prowse added: “They’ll be a few debriefs and tactical analysis but the belief in what we’re doing is so strong that we don’t care who we play or how many times we play them.

“We believe in how we do it and we’ll apply that again Tuesday night.”

The FA Cup loss ended a run of six matches without defeat for Arsenal and Arteta will be keen to keep the Gunners’ improved league form on track on Tuesday.

The Spaniard said: “It’s always strange and I think nobody likes to play the same team twice in three days.

“But it’s what it is so let’s review the game, try to lift the players up because that was a big disappointment for us, and be ready for another battle.”