Arsenal have not had too many really bad days to endure this season, especially if you consider that the double defeat by a struggling Chelsea side saw us get no luck whatsoever and everything go right for them. But the biggest defeat of the season was also possibly our worst performance, away to Southampton on Boxing Day.
So after a run of three games without a win the last thing we needed was to get a third bogey team on the trot for the next Premier League match. The Gunners may have been (we were) unlucky with the officials missing reasons to disallow three of the Saints’ four goals that day but we cannot argue with the fact that we were completely outplayed.
The same thing happened to us at St. Mary’s last season on New Years Day and we have generally struggled against them in recent years. We did manage to beat them at home last time but it was a close run thing as Alexis Sanchez scored with minutes left on the clock after they had gone down to 10 men due to an injury and having made all three subs.
They also knocked us out of the Capital One Cup at the Emirates and held us to a draw the previous year and are coming to north London after more than a week of rest and boosted by a win against Man United at Old Trafford. Having said that, we are often at our best when up against it and proved that by responding to one of the other low points of the season, losing at home to Olympiacos, by thumping them in Athens.
It will be hard but can Arsenal get revenge and a vital win over the Saints?