Arsenal travel down to the South Coast for their eighteenth league match of the season, as they take on Southampton at St Mary’s.
The squad will have been in high spirits when training at London Colney on Christmas morning, following their fantastic win against Manchester City last Monday. The Gunners were clinical, disruptive and in control for large portions of the match, restricting City to playing either poor balls into the box or trying wayward efforts from distance. The only considerable pressure came in the last 10 minutes, as fatigue settled in and Arsene Wenger’s choice of substitutions, if anything, weren’t complimentary to the tactics Arsenal needed to adopt to seal off the win.
Regardless, the result on Monday means that Arsenal kept up the pace with Leicester City, who amazingly still lead the league table at Christmas, with Wenger’s men in second place, two points behind the Foxes. Whilst Arsenal will still secretively feel that they are title favourites given the nature of Leicester’s perhaps unsustainable position, Claudio Ranieri’s side should at this point be treated as rivals to the league title. Pellegrini’s team, however, are now six points behind the title, giving Arsenal breathing room in this congested winter period.
Saturday’s opposition have failed to hit the heights of last season and find themselves in 12th position as they approach the half-way mark of the season. Unlike the summer before, Southampton’s frantic departures and arrivals haven’t gelled successfully, and as a result, the Saints have been a stop-start team this season, picking up wins against the likes of Chelsea, but Ronald Koeman’s side also haven’t won a game since the beginning of November. These inconsistent displays not only have put the Dutchman’s job on the line – it is common knowledge that a Premier League manager’s job is the least secure in the business – but also give way to a need for a January signing, to ‘spark’ the team. Whilst the team from the South Coast will be desperate to get back to winning ways, the obvious lack of quality on show at the moment, combined with an in-form Arsenal who are clearly superior in quality presents a tricky situation for Koeman and his men.
The Saints’ last match was a comprehensive 2-0 loss to city rivals Tottenham Hotspur at St. Mary’s, in which Mauricio Pochettino set up his side to resoundingly defeat his former side. The Saints were blunt and amateurish in defence, and overall it was a poor showing by them.
A player Arsenal need to watch out for is Sadio Mané. The Senegal forward’s movement and quick feet will more likely than not goad the impressionable Mathieu Flamini to stride forward from his defensive midfield role, isolating Aaron Ramsey and creating space for his fellow team-mates. Mané will offer a direct threat to the Arsenal back-four and, if the Gunners aren’t careful, could create major problems to deal with.
A player Southampton need to watch out for is Mesut Özil. With more than half of the season to go, the German is only six assists away from breaking Thierry Henry’s record, just under averaging an assist a league game. Özil has become much more efficient despite retaining his elegance, whilst his team-mates are lapping up his service and returning the favour with more goals. He’s playing at the peak of his career, brimming with confidence, so expect another strong performance.
Match facts
– Mesut Özil has the best minutes per assist ratio in Premier League’s history, with an assist every 185 minutes.
– Mesut Özil is the quickest player in Premier League’s history to hit 15 assists in a single season, with 16 appearances in the league.
– Since Olivier Giroud joined Arsenal in July 2012, only three players have scored more PL goals: Aguero with 62, Lukaku with 55, Suarez with 54. The Frenchman has 51.
– The Frenchman is the highest scoring French footballer of this calendar year, with 32.
– The last five matches between the two have been indecisive, with two wins, two losses and a draw for the Gunners over this period. 12 goals have been scored in these five matches.
– Southampton hold the home advantage, having beaten Arsenal last time they squared off at St. Mary’s and winning 15 of the recorded 38 matches played between the two on the South Coast.
Team news
The Christmassy mood at London Colney won’t be spoilt by the news of any new injuries – Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck, Tomas Rosicky, Mikel Arteta, Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla all remain in the treatment room. Alexis Sanchez should make a return to the bench at least after recovering from his 3-week long injury.
Predicted XIs
Southampton (4-2-3-1): Gazzaniga; Cedric, Fonte, van Dijk, Bertrand; Wanyama, Clasie; Davis, Tadic, Mané; Pelle.
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Cech; Bellerin, Kosicielny, Mertesacker, Monreal; Ramsey, Flamini; Campbell, Özil, Walcott; Giroud.
