Arsenal took vengeance on Southampton with a 3-1 win over the Saints in the Premier League yesterday.
The Gunners had been eliminated from the FA Cup by the same opponent in their last competitive game.
Mikel Arteta rested several of his key players for that game, a decision that he may be regretting now.
The Saints had played Arsenal twice this season before this game and didn’t lose either of the matches.
Arsenal started the game with a stronger line up than the one that lost the FA Cup game, although Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was still unavailable.
The Gunners went behind, but worked hard and got back in the game through Nicolas Pepe.
Bukayo Saka and Alexandre Lacazette scored two more goals to finish the night for the Gunners.
However, it was the team’s overall determination to get something from the game that stood out for Rio Ferdinand.
The former Manchester United defender said that the Gunners worked hard to get the win that they achieved.
“Great night for Arsenal. I think the way they played, the foundations of that performance, was from the hard work, the press high up the pitch,” the BT Sport pundit said via Mirror Football.
“I think the instigator of that was [Emile] Smith Rowe. He’s been brought in, a young graduate from the academy, and that was foundation that set everything up.
“Arsenal, we always spoke about how they played great football, entertained us, scored some fabulous goals over the past few years, but that element that we’re talking about – the press from the front, to be able to really suffocate teams is where they’ve probably let themselves down at times.
“Today they got it right.”
Ferdinand praising Arsenal ? Owen’s next, maybe after the united game.
One always expects an ex player pundit to be less objective about the club he played for; however I have mostly found Rio Ferdinand fair in his comments. When he has criticised Arsenal, it has been difficult to dismiss his comments with counter arguments.
I concur!👍
Not that it matters but he is a big fan of Saka but then again who is not??