In the social media era, he would have been ridiculed by opposition fans had the St Mary's side succumbed to a third successive loss to the Gunners.

But that does not factor into his thinking, as the 33 year old genuinely believed what he said. Crucially, so did his players, who trust him implicitly.

Saints beat the Premier League leaders to reach an FA Cup semi-final, sitting in a compact 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 low block, and being efficient in transition.

They ceded territory with an average defensive line of 44.3m, compared to Arsenal's 54.6m, picking their moments to hunt down possession.

Saints allowed Arsenal an average of 15.4 passes per defensive action - effectively letting them play - the third-highest total in a game in 2026.

Saints waited patiently for their chance to steal possession (Image: Stuart Martin)

Fulham (20.68) and Coventry (16.15) are the other two games, while they allowed just over 8 PPDA against Oxford and Norwich. It is deliberate.

“We tried to restrict what their strengths are while playing to what our strengths could be. We had to keep our heads," explained...