Arsenal vs. Southampton: Score, Reaction from 2016 EFL Cup Quarter-Final

Southampton booked their ticket to the semi-finals of the 2016 EFL Cup on Wednesday, beating Arsenal 2-0 in the quarter-finals thanks to two first-half goals at the Emirates Stadium.

Jordy Clasie gave the visitors an early lead with his first goal for Southampton, and Ryan Bertrand doubled their advantage before half-time. A lacklustre Arsenal squad failed to come back in the second half.

As the club's official Twitter account shared, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger kept the likes of Petr Cech and Laurent Koscielny on the bench for the match:

The hosts dominated possession early on, but some of their passing was sloppy, and a turnover from Mohamed Elneny resulted in the first chance of the match. Shane Long missed the target with a shot from long range, however.

It took the Saints just 13 minutes to take the lead, as Bertrand ran down the wing and sent a cross toward Sofiane Boufal. The ball deflected to the feet of Clasie, and he blasted home.

Per BBC Sport, the Dutchman had never scored for Southampton before:

The home fans were furious when goalkeeper Fraser Forster appeared to handle the ball outside the box, although replays showed the stopper timed his run perfectly and stayed behind the line. Lucas Perez also wasn't happy when he was held, resulting in a wayward shot.

Arsenal wasted time prodding for open looks, however, opting to keep passing and giving the Saints time to organise their defence after every breakdown. They also threatened on the counter, and Elneny ran into the first booking after he pulled down Bertrand.

Alex Iwobi and Maya Yoshida soon joined him in the book, and the barrage of yellow cards seemed to aid Southampton. Despite Arsenal's control of the ball, they had little momentum, and chances were few before the break.

Just as the half seemed destined to finish with a 1-0 scoreline, Carl Jenkinson coughed up the ball, with Boufal eventually working it over to Bertrand, who doubled Southampton's lead.

Per Bleacher Report's Dean Jones, it was hardly deserved:

Granit Xhaka made his way on to the pitch, replacing Elneny before half-time, with the Egyptian suffering an injury. James Olley of the London Evening Standard didn't like the Gunners' chances after the break:

The Gunners came out of the dressing room firing, and Perez immediately blasted a shot wide on the turn. Aaron Ramsey perhaps should have pulled one back in the 50th minute, nearly going one-on-one with Forster but taking too long on the ball.

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez almost allowed a harmless shot from Long to spill into the net, with the ball slipping past the side of the post.

Southampton kept playing for the counter, and Boufal should have finished things after another wasteful Arsenal pass. The forward had time but put his hard shot wide.

Wenger responded by introducing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, preparing for the final push.

Francis Coquelin was given too much space to shoot, but he couldn't hit the target, either, as time started to run out. Long almost delivered the killer blow, holding off Gabriel Paulista before dinking the ball out of play.

Oxlade-Chamberlain blasted over from a promising position, and Perez had a ball cleared off the line, ahead of the England international, as luck wasn't with the Gunners.

Substitute Josh Sims tormented the Gunners defence with some late skill and a great shot as the Saints easily survived to book their spot in the semi-finals.

Wenger was clear in his assessment after the match, via the team's official Twitter account:

Arsenal will visit West Ham United on Saturday in the Premier League for their next outing, while Southampton travel to Crystal Palace.