Arsenal's opponents shown exactly how to beat Gunners with ideal blueprint

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Arsenal's defeat to Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-final has shown Manchester City and others a blueprint on how to beat Mikel Arteta's side

Alan Shearer has suggested the strategy Manchester City must employ to overcome Arsenal in their attempt to secure the Premier League title.

The former Newcastle United forward emphasised the courage and confidence displayed by Southampton during their FA Cup quarter-final, as the Saints eliminated Mikel Arteta's team from the tournament.

Within the span of two fixtures, the Gunners have transformed from quadruple contenders to having only the top-flight championship and Champions League remaining as potential trophy opportunities.

City dominated Arsenal at Wembley on the eve of the international break to claim the first available silverware, with Nico O'Reilly's brace proving sufficient to secure the Carabao Cup final 2-0. They built upon their cup triumph with a commanding victory over Liverpool to secure their FA Cup semi-final spot.

The Gunners are back in action following their 2-1 defeat against the Championship side in midweek when they head to Sporting CP in the Champions League. They return to top-flight duties when Bournemouth visit on April 11.

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Shearer praised Southampton's tactics, stating: "They were brave, they were definitely brave, definitely had belief. They fed off the crowd, had a great energy.

"I was really impressed with how they approached it, the manager came out and said, 'We're going to have a gameplan, we think we can get at them and there may be one or two weaknesses', which was brave to think it, let alone, say it.

"He did, I thought they were absolutely outstanding, a great watch and brilliant to witness."

City must overturn a nine-point gap to reclaim their position at the top of English football and that deficit could shrink to six points should they triumph in their game in hand.

Victory over Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium would leave just three points separating the sides heading into the final five fixtures of the campaign.

Micah Richards added: "I don't think teams in the Premier League play like that. Arsenal wouldn't be that high, it's almost like they went into the game thinking they can turn up.

"They have loads of ball players, we have to give a shoutout to Dowman, on another day he scores a couple of goals but couldn't get his touch right in the last bit of it but when you look at Arsenal and think Dowman is the best player, the senior players need to step up now."

Lineker continued: "The next two games are massive, they need to steady the ship. They have a huge lead in the Premier League.

"City have a game [in hand] and play Arsenal at the Etihad, so it could go down to three but it has to. It's squeaky bum time."