England round-up: Arsenal hit Southampton for six
Wednesday, May 7, 2003
Article summary
Robert Pires and Jermaine Pennant both scored hat-tricks to help Arsenal FC beat Southampton FC 6-1.
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Robert Pires and Jermaine Pennant both scored hat-tricks to help Arsenal FC overcome Southampton FC 6-1 at Highbury on Wednesday in a dress rehearsal for next week's FA Cup final.
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The former champions, whose hopes of retaining their Premiership title ended with a 3-2 home defeat by Leeds United AFC on Sunday that handed Manchester United FC the crown, knocked the stuffing out of the visitors with a rampant first-half display.
FA Cup final
Both managers fielded under-strength sides for the match, with Arsenal's Arsène Wenger giving 19-year-old Ryan Garry his league debut. Southampton's Gordon Strachan left top strikers James Beattie and Brett Ormerod on the bench in a bid to keep them fresh for the cup final in Cardiff on 17 May.
Sublime lob
Pires opened the scoring in the ninth minute before Pennant, scoring his first goals for the club, added strikes on 16 and 19 minutes. Pires scored again midway through the half and three-minutes later Pennant completed his hat-trick. Jo Tessem pulled one back for the visitors ten minutes before the interval, but the respite was brief and Pires added his third with a sublime looping shot soon after the re-start.
