At A Glance:
- Arsenal get back to action this weekend as they face Southampton in the FA Cup.
- It’ll be their first match since losing 2-0 to Manchester City.
- Paul Merson has issued a stern warning to Mikel Arteta ahead of their trip to St. Mary’s.
After an unusual international break for Arsenal, which saw a handful of players return from their respective duties, they return to action on Saturday with an FA Cup quarter-final tie against Southampton.
It’ll be the first time that Mikel Arteta’s men are back on the pitch after fluffing their first chance at silverware by losing 2-0 to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final.
Still top of the Premier League and also in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the Gunners’ three-pronged pursuit of trophies lives on.
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But Southampton will prove to be a tricky side to beat given how well they’ve fared under the stewardship of Tonda Eckert – and ex-Arsenal man Paul Merson has explained why winning is so vital for Arteta.
Paul Merson issues Arteta stern warning before FA Cup clash with Southampton
Thanks to a number of players – from Declan Rice to Gabriel Magalhaes – returning to N5 from international duty, it remains to be seen how Arteta will approach the cup tie on the south coast.
Without some of his strongest players, the Premier League champions-elect may struggle more than many would have expect.
Merson is one of those people as, in his Sportskeeda column, the former Highbury legend wrote: “It’s a difficult game for Arsenal because a lot of their players have returned from their national team squads with fitness issues.
“They could be forced to field a patched-up line-up against Southampton in the FA Cup on Saturday. The way Southampton are playing, I expect them to give Arsenal a strong challenge. They have been decent at home and although Arsenal are favourites, I still believe this game is a tricky banana skin fixture.
“After having lost the Carabao Cup final to Manchester City, image Arsenal being force to field a weakened team here and then losing this game. All of a sudden, you have serious pressure on you when you face Sporting because just 45 bad minutes in that game will force you to be up against it right away!
“So this is a humungous game and week ahead for Arsenal. They face Bournemouth in the league next weekend, which is not exactly a ‘give-me’ fixture at this point in the season,” the 58-year-old continued.
“Arsenal need a win in this game and to get them back on track. I expected them to get it even though it’s still a tough contest.”
Merson then predicted that Arsenal will reign victorious in a 2-0 win over the Championship outfit, though he is way of the threat they pose against a potentially-rotated Gunners side.
How are Arsenal going to set up against Southampton?
Are Arteta’s Arsenal depleted as they seem heading into this weekend’s fixture? That is something that will remain unknown until the Spanish tactician’s pre-match press conference.
But ReadArsenal have predicted that Kepa Arrizabalaga will start in between the sticks despite his high-profile error at Wembley against City.
Ben White and Myles Lewis-Skelly are likely to flank Cristhian Mosquera and Riccardo Calafiori to complete Arsenal’s four-man defence.
With Rice potentially out of action, Christian Norgaard could be placed at the fulcrum of midfield with Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz operating just ahead of him.
Moving out wide, Max Dowman could be offered the chance to dazzle from the off with Gabriel Martinelli on the other wing. Gabriel Jesus – who is rumoured with a summer move away – could start up top.
