‘I was playing Playstation with them!’ – Scienza opens up on Arsenal memories
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Scienza has become one of the South Coast side’s most watchable players, with his mix of balletic grace and creativity lighting up not just the Championship this season, but also the FA Cup as The Saints have embarked on a stunning run.Southampton cast aside Fulham in the fifth round, before knocking out Arsenal in a sensational evening at St Mary’s on April 4.
Can they make it a hat-trick of Premier League conquests when they take on the might of Manchester City on Saturday afternoon?
“I think even in the best days we could not imagine that we would be so far, also because of the kind of opponents we got until now,” Scienza told TNT Sports at Southampton’s Staplewood Training Campus.
“It has been an amazing journey, and I’m really looking forward to the next game now, and hopefully keep on in a positive way.”
Dissecting Arsenal win – and praise for Dowman
Scienza thrilled in the victory over Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, giving the North London side’s defence a torrid time with his direct running.
The Brazilian looked back on that tie, how it felt coming up against their battery of elite forwards, and what it told him about his own career evolution over the past year.
“Before the game, this was not our biggest focus of the season, because we just have one big focus to do the best in the Championship, to go back to where we deserve to be as a club in the Premier League,” Scienza said.
Highlights: Late drama sees Southampton dump Arsenal out of FA Cup
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“When you have a cup game like this, it’s just enjoyable, because you feel like you have nothing to lose, playing at that moment against the best team in England.
“We were very confident, because we came from a very good run in the last few months. We just felt like this, let’s go all in, we have quality also, we had a gameplan, we did an amazing game, it was not lucky, we deserved to win – and here we are.”
He added: “I love to learn, I’m a player always seeking to get better every day. I don’t like to compare myself with anybody, because everyone has a different history, a different background, a different way of being. I just try to be better than I was yesterday.
“But of course when you play against a team like Arsenal with [Gabriel] Martinelli, [Gabriel] Jesus, [Bukayo] Saka was not in the game, but even the young player [Max Dowman], the right-winger, was an amazing player.
“So you try to see what they do well, and see what you can do better, what are your qualities that maybe they don’t have.
“Most of the players that they have, I was – until maybe last season – playing on the Playstation with them, and now I had the chance to play against them.
“I swapped shirts with them after the game, and it’s just a feeling of gratitude for the moment.”
Memories of Guardiola’s Barca
Scienza will come up against “one of his favourite coaches” on Saturday in Pep Guardiola.
The 27-year-old revealed his admiration for the Catalan – but has clear belief that he and his team-mates can cash in on the “beauty of the cup” to do something special.
Scienza on Pep’s Barca, the ‘beauty of the cup’ and City’s quality
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“Maybe [City] will be even harder than what Arsenal was,” Scienza said.
“They are an amazing side. One of my favourite coaches is [Pep] Guardiola, for everything he’s done for football.
“I loved to watch his Barcelona back then – they were my favourite team in the world.
“It’s hard to find words because you can make a plan a, b and c in the game and they will find a way to do something different because they have so much quality, not just the manager but all the players.
“They can do things that you cannot train. It will be very challenging, but this is the beauty of the cup, you have 90 minutes, you play in Wembley – this is also a dream – and anything can happen.”
Eckert savours ‘unusual pathway’
As recently as 2024, Scienza was playing in the third division in Germany with SSV Ulm, before embarking on his rapid rise which sees him and his team on the brink of a Wembley final, and potentially the Premier League.
“It’s quite an unusual career pathway that he’s taken,” Southampton boss Tonda Eckert said of his flying winger.
“I think Leo has been on a journey for quite some time. He’s always been able to raise standards.
Eckert on Guardiola: He’s been an inspiration for me
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“Normally players in his position start to peak towards the age that he’s in, because you need a certain agility to beat players one against one.
“I think with him it’s a little bit different since he started his career later, I still think that there’s more to come.
“And that’s quite nice to see, that you have a player at 27 that you can still push. It’s been a nice journey and I think there are many more things to come.”
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