Arsenal has played Southampton twice this season already and didn’t win either of the games.
The Saints eliminated the Gunners from the FA Cup in their last game. Both teams will meet again in the Premier League this week.
Southampton kept a clean sheet as they knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup with a 1-0 win.
The goal may have been through a deflection off Gabriel Magalhaes, but the Saints were solid at the back.
The clean sheet they kept in that match was a cup game against a weakened Arsenal side, but they remain one of the best defensive sides in the league.
Writing on the Premier League’s official website, Adrian Clarke says the Saints have a solid defence that will be a problem for Arsenal to break down.
He highlighted that they have kept six clean sheets in nine Premier League home games this season, and have formed a solid partnership at the back among their defenders.
He wrote: “Southampton have kept six clean sheets in nine Premier League home matches and Arsenal will not find them easy to break down on Tuesday.
“Ralph Hasenhuttl has set his side up in a 4-4-2 formation and created an impressive off-the-ball structure.
“Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are the only visiting sides to score at St Mary’s Stadium this season, which emphasises the task in hand for Arsenal.
“Their defensive solidity was highlighted on Saturday, when Southampton beat the Gunners 1-0 at home in the FA Cup.
“The stability of Southampton’s backline has been key to a number of their performances.
“Kyle Walker-Peters, Ryan Bertrand, Jan Bednarek, Jack Stephens and Yannik Vestergaard are the only defenders used from the start of a match in 2020/21.
“This lack of rotation, coupled with very few injury problems, has helped them strike up an impressive connection.”
We should think carefully too.
As a man Arteta is clean cut and handsome, giving the air of confidence and knowledge. As a manager who picked the side against Southampton, Arteta is quite stupid in team choice. As for man management he has no idea. He clearly holds grudges and treats some players, differently to others and unfairly. I think many supporters have seen this now and are very worried. Sooner or later everyone gets seen for their real capabilities.
Handsome? Can we vote on that? I can’t get past the Thunderbirds hair!
And on balance I disagree. Lot’s of mistakes yes, but I still think he’s evolving and he is improving, albeit it’s 2 steps forward 1 step back.
I dont have a problem with what he did on Saturday. Not much choice there if the EPL is more important than FA Cup. Massive compressed season, and all teams are rotating. Throw in Covid and see the inconsistencies everywhere. Is the FA Cup more important for you? Criticise the players out there or not the team selection.
Just for the record – Arteta doesn’t do it for me 😄
Sean, his “stupidity” and “grudges” are of course ONLY your opinion , to which you are of entitled. But you are not entitled to write it as if it is a fact accepted by all. I differ in a polar respect from you, as will others. I do echo your final sentence but mean it in a polar opposite way from you!
Crucial games on Tuesday!! Really have to beat the Saints..Can’t even remember the last time we won@St Mary!!
Remember when they bashed us 4 0 and 2 0 during the time of Sadio Mane, Shane Long, VVD and Jose Fonte!!
That said, a simple strong Line-up will defeat them easily but Mr Arteta always comes up with his own smart ideas..
Leno
Bellerin. Holding. Mari. Tierney
Partey
Ceballos. Rowe-smith
Saka. Aubameyang. Willian
*Martinelli to come as a sub
* Also, no defensive midfield partnership plz..e.g Xhaka-partey, Elneny-partey..
Predict a 0 2 win for Arsenal Fc!!😊😊
Vinnie2000
Willian???????????????????????????????????
Lol,,..
Thing is that I don’t to put Pepe in the lineup..
Also wouldn’t want to leave Auba there.(left wing).He’s a central striker for Pete’s sake..
Also Martinelli shouldn’t be starting games..He’s more effective as a sub.
But then, these are mere personal thoughts..
Let’s see what MA does on Tuesday night!!
Vinnie Any fan who freely chooses Willian, incredibly, to be a starter, given his wretched form this whole season, would be better off not giving his team at all. I doubt even a single Gooner worldwide would agree with you that Scowler Willian should start!
Willian? No laca?…ok…that’s “Smart”
Leno
Bellerin/Soares. Holding. Mari. Tierney
. Partey. Xhaka
Saka. ESR. Auba
. Laca
Martinelli for auba and balogun in the bench
We won at St Mary’s last season 2-0 Vinnie 👊
Not a big surprise Lampard being sacked considering how much money they spent in the summer. Top 4 or the sack . Emery was given the same ultimatum top 4 or the sack but with a vastly inferior squad. Arteta though has been allowed an 8th place finish and this term the worst start in 30 years. Setting the right expectation level is a tricky business.
Arteta has been given the same amount too?
Maybe MA was just told Top 4 place twice?
There’s another side called Chelsea in Australia?
you have some serious issues with people’s sexual orientation…please put your pants on, get out of your parent’s basement and for the love of God stop with the pathetic primary school banter
Hasenhuttel is a better coach than Arteta and makes far better use of his resources.
After a promising start Arteta has clearly run out of ideas and recent success in playing the kids has occurred more by luck and necessity than judgment.
Arteta far more deserving of sack than Lampard.The difference being that Chelsea don’t accept mediocrity when Arsenal do!
No, Chelsea lack class
If Arsenal play ie passing all the time, they will lose. Its too slow.
Long passes and long range shooting shd do the trick.
While I’m not saying Arsenal are world-beaters right now, is anyone else surprised at the level of negativity in this site give that we are undefeated in five PL games?
Lord help us when we lose a couple of games in a row.
Agree Trudeau. If every club was supported like this there’d be no managers left. There’s a big difference between the moaning we all do after games and the unjustified vitriole that we find here.
Lol… Like there’s no shame…
They blame the coach for resting our first eleven and giving struggling players the chance to perform
There’s no negativity in dis site!! Just a bunch of realist and pragmatic fans who wants to call a spade a spade!!
Arsenal haven’t won the EPL since 2004!! Haven’t reached the UCL final since 2006!! Haven’t crossed it’s quarter final stage since like 2009!! Haven’t qualified for the competition since 2017 or so..
But we have supported this team regardless!! Juventus, Real Madrid, Barca, Chelsea, Man Utd fans wouldn’t such mediocrity or terrible statistics from their team, so why should we??
Arsenal FC is a top club with 13 PL titles and 15 Fa cups, a global brand and I think fans here wants to get back to the top and not settle for top 4 scraps n Europa league qualifications rubbish!!
Most of our fans want us to suddenly play like Bayern Munich when the team is still under rebuilding. I don’t see Saints beating us on Tuesday, we are winning+I can’t judge Arteta now, I’ll do that at the end of the season…
Given the megalomaniac who owns that club it cannot be a surprise A disgrace, of course, but not a surprise. Chelski, with that corrupt owner will NEVER have any class. Sacking a manager before he has had a real chance is stupid, pathetic and reeks of all the worst greed of which human kind is capable!
Abramovic should be in jail, were there justice in the world. He is a corrupt gangster in a gentlemans clothing. I loathe Chelski more than all our other rivals put together! But I admire Lampard immensely!
Arteta won the FA Cup and Community Shield with crap players by the system he sets up it was not a fluke, the players he trusted are letting him down but he has stumbled on the youth to do the work, while his major signing has been injured, Ozil presence was a distraction.
@ Joel Hasenhuttel has been at Southampton for 3 yrs now so he has had 3 pre-season with his players to set up a system and understanding while Arteta is only a year with a pandemic compressed pre-season. He is young & inexperience yes but he has great potentials to be great manager cos he proves so buy winning cups.
The board are not trigger happy like that of chelsea, patience for Arsenal is key part of their policy.
Re the sacking of Frank Lampard, strong language Jon Fox, and entirely justified.How Chelsea fans can continue to support a team owned by a “criminal” is beyond me.This just may be the last straw for many as FL was a legend , and will be remembered long after the Russian gangster is no more.
Arteta will be under tremendous pressure now as he had prioritized EPL over FA Cup.
He should be scared to death as there is a Chelsea reject available.🤣
One last word on the sacking of FL.Abramovich made a statement to the effect that this had been a difficult decision for the “Club” to make.Let’s get this straight, the decision was made by one man, not the Club.