Southampton will make the short trip to London to take on Arsenal this evening, with the clubs in contrasting form.
The Gunners come into the tie on the back of some shocking results, having lost six of their last eight in the Premier League, picking up just four points in that time.
The Saints on the other hand are flying high. They currently occupy fourth in the table, and a win could see them join Tottenham and Liverpool on points in first (Should the draw against each other this evening).
Obviously we can’t be allowing that to happen…
While Arsenal are in terrible form, and we are suffering, that can surely only go on for so long.
Pressure is definitely mounting on our manager, and the players must know that with the transfer window set to open in just over two weeks, some of them could well be replaced.
This team needs to start fighting for one another, fighting against their disgraceful league position, or fighting for the manager and the club.
I don’t personally care what it takes to get the team back on the winning side, be it personal or team goals, or fighting for various mixtures of the above, but we definitely need to see them battling for something.
If Arteta doesn’t manage to motivate his team to break free from their form today, he could well be out of a job before Christmas, but I’m relying on the players to save him from that tonight.
While anything less than a win will do little for our standing in the league, the players will need to be showing exactly why they deserve to be playing for Arsenal.
I feel like our team will have to overcome their confidence issues this evening, and a 1-1 draw feels like it is on the cards, but if the Arsenal of recent weeks remains from the kick off, Southampton could well win this convincingly.
Does the tide simply have to turn tonight? Or will this Southampton side be plunging a stake into the manager’s job security?
Patrick