Rob Holding could barely disguise his disappointment after Southampton's first-half double knocked the Gunners out of the EFL Cup on Wednesday.
Jordy Clasie broke the deadlock inside the opening quarter of an hour, and Holding believes it was uphill from then on.
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"They had something to hold on to then," he told Arsenal Player. "Away from home, they’re going to sit back.
"And to be fair, Southampton defended well. They had something to hold on to, which helped them."
Having seen off Nottingham Forest and Reading in the earlier two rounds – each without conceding a goal – Holding said the team were confident of going all the way to the final this year.
"You look at the players we had out tonight, there were some big players and you think with the strength of the squad, a second string team can get all the way – but it wasn’t to be.
"It was a chance to get some silverware at the end of the season, so I’m disappointed to be out of the competition," he added. "There’s not much more I can say really.
"We've just got to learn from it and it’ll only help us in the coming years."
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