After the first international break of the season, the Premier League fixture list restarts for the Arsenal with a home match against Southampton.
Over the last three years, Southampton have grown to be a formidable force in the mid-table of England’s top division. With current Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino and now Everton boss, Ronald Koeman at the helm, the Saints have finished 8th, 7th and 6th respectively in the last three seasons.
Southampton’s squad however has been constantly raided at the end of every season. Players to depart the Saints in the last few years include Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Nathaniel Clyne and Sadio Mane (to Liverpool), Luke Shaw and Morgan Schneiderlin (to Manchester United), Calum Chambers (to Arsenal) and Victor Wanyama (to Tottenham). Yet Southampton have managed to improve each year, a testament to the depth of their youth system and their managers’ ability to bring in new talent like Dusan Tadic, Jordy Clasie, Virgil Van Dijk and Fraser Forster and develop players like Jay Rodriguez, James Ward-Prowse, Ryan Bertrand and Shane Long.
This season hasn’t been the greatest start. In the three games so far, they’ve drawn 1-1 to Watford and Sunderland (both arguably winnable games) and lost 2-0 to Manchester United as they adjust to yet another new manager, former Nice manager and Arsene Wenger pal Claude Puel. They’ve been boosted by the recent return from injury of Rodriguez, and new buys like Nathan Redmond and club record signing Sofiane Boufal. Boufal will not be available against the Gunners as he still builds up his fitness, but the Saints still present a tough task.
Arsenal dropped a 4-0 match away last December and drew 0-0 in February at the Emirates. Up until the 2014/15 season, Arsenal hadn’t lost to Southampton since November 2002 but the Saints have won three (once in the League Cup), lost one and drew one in the last two years.
Here are three keys to Saturday’s match for Arsenal when they host Southampton:
Integrate the new guys…again:
One repeated key at the beginning of the season, especially with the number and quality of new players Arsenal brought in, is integrating them correctly with the players already in the squad. If new boys Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez are fit and ready (Wenger said on Friday he wasn’t sure), will they start? Who will they start with? Mustafi will likely slot in alongside Koscielny in central defense, but will Lucas Perez start up top? On the wings? If on the wings, that would mean Theo Walcott would likely take a seat on the bench.
Make sure Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez continue wizardry:
The Gunners thrived against Watford when their German No. 10 was running the show, with their Chilean superstar benefitting at first. Then the switch flipped, with Alexis’ neat lifted cross finding Ozil’s head for a gorgeous goal. Assuming Alexis is fit, those two will need to be at peak form. Southampton’s defense is strong, with Van Dijk and EURO 2016 winner Jose Fonte bossing the backline.
Make the right decisions on the team sheet and on substitutions:
Alex Iwobi is back healthy, but Aaron Ramsey will miss out against Southampton and away to PSG in the Champions League mid-week. With arguably the biggest tie of the group stage just three days after Saturday’s match, who starts, who plays how long and who sits this one out are the biggest decisions Arsene Wenger makes. Alexis came back late from internationals – should he sit this game out or at least start on the bench? Will Mustafi and Perez be integrated enough? Is Iwobi really ready?
Lots of decisions against a team that has been a thorn in the Gunners’ side for a couple years. It may be too soon for the new pieces to have a full impact, and we may not even get the best lineup out there with PSG around the corner. But Arsenal’s pieces, even off the bench, still offer more, and the Gunners are coming off a big win.
Prediction: 2-0 Arsenal. Goals from Giroud and Xhaka.
