After scoring the goal that knocked out Arsenal, the midfielder is relishing Saturday’s semi-final against his old club Manchester City
I
n the seconds after Southampton disposed of Arsenal to tee up an FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City, a camera operator scooted on to the St Mary’s pitch and got to work on locating the match-winner. As the crowd swayed to the sound of Doris Day’s Que Sera, Sera, another lasting image was born.
In between high-fiving and embracing teammates, Shea Charles tilted his head and turned towards the camera, raising his eyebrows a little with a playful – how-about-that-then? – expression. It was a snapshot that snowballed into a viral meme, viewed by millions on social media, and a couple of days later, Southampton asked their players to recreate the moment. “I just looked at the camera as if I was looking at my mates down the lens,” Charles says. “I’ve seen it’s gone all over.”
Southampton’s victory had become primetime viewing. This Saturday, 50 years on from winning the Cup under Lawrie McMenemy, the Championship club return to Wembley to face City, whom Charles joined at the age of seven and left three years ago for Southampton in a £15m deal. He was brought up in Flixton on the outskirts of Manchester and when he joined City’s academy he was flanked by Patrick Vieira, fresh into a youth-development role after his retirement from playing.
