Ralph Hasenhuttl praised his Southampton side as they beat Emirates FA Cup holders Arsenal with a 1-0 win at St. Mary’s in the fourth round.

The only goal of the game came in the first half as Kyle Walker-Peters’ low cross was diverted into his own net by Gabriel, which proved to be the difference.

It was the Saints’ first ever win over Arsenal in the FA Cup, and Hasenhuttl hailed a committed performance from his side.

'Very committed performance'

“We took it very seriously today and tried to win against the cup holders,” he told southamptonfc.com. “It was a big home game and a pity that the fans weren’t here to watch us fight against them.

“I think we showed them some good actions and the first half was definitely a very good one for us, and the second half was a little bit more under pressure but this is normal.

“The first half was very good and organised, calm on the ball and we had some good early ball wins. It was a very committed performance but tough against a strong side.”

Wolves await

Saints will now face fellow Premier League side Wolves in the fifth round of the competition, with the Austrian taking it one game at a time.

“Like this week when we play twice against Arsenal, it will be twice against Wolves,” he added.

“There’s still a way to go and we first have some Premier League games that we must try to win and then we can focus on the cup again.”

And skipper James Ward-Prowse described dumping holders Arsenal out of the FA Cup as a ‘special feeling’ as Saints progressed to the last 16.

Ward-Prowse told the Daily Echo: “It’s been a bit of a strange week, having played in the FA Cup twice in a few days.

“To beat Shrewsbury was a real positive performance, to have so many academy lads, they have played a really important part for us.

“And to now put the holders out is a really special feeling, so looking forward to the next round.”

Boss Hasenhuttl named almost a full strength side against Arsenal, and England international Ward-Prowse believes the club’s top-half position in the Premier League allows them to attack the cup competition.

'A great opportunity'

“We take every competition seriously and this is a great opportunity to progress well in the cup,” he said. “In recent years we’ve always been in a difficult position with the league and that’s taken a lot of focus.

“But with that being good, I think we can afford to look at the cup a little bit more and take more risks, and I think that paid off on Saturday.”

He added: “I think first half we were very dominant and the only thing we lacked was that second goal. We won a lot of balls high up the pitch but our decision-making wasn’t quite perfect enough to do it.

“I think in the second half we had to go through a bit of a difficult spell against a good Arsenal team.

“They’re always going to have possession and they’re going to probe and we had to defend. To keep another clean sheet was massively important.”