This last weekend was a great one for Arsenal for a change, and after beating Man United and Liverpool’s draw with Southampton, we are still in with a chance of making the Top Four. The only problem is that tonight’s game is against the team that gave us the chance in the first place, Southampton!
As Wenger said when asked if Arsenal still had something to play for: “Exactly.” he replied. “We have a big game on Wednesday. Southampton are a good team. Collectively they play well. They keep possession of the ball and we need to recover and focus to win on Wednesday. We still have a chance mathematically and we need some help as well from teams around us.”
Why do the Saints deserve respect? Well they have a good tactical manager, and are currently 10th in the Premier League. In there last 7 games their only defeats have been to Man City and Chelsea and they have just had a little confidence booster by holding Liverpool to a draw at Anfield. Their coach Claude Puel is expecting to give the Gunners a good game this evening. He said on the official Saints website: “We know Arsenal. It’s always a great team with fantastic offensive players,”
“But I think we can do a good game against this team – to keep, of course, a good structure, to defend together and to prevent them chances.
“But also to have the ball and the possibility in the final third to find the clinical edge and to produce good football. It’s important also in front of our fans to show our qualities.”
His team had to fight hard to get the point at Anfield, albeit they were helped by James Milner’s missed penalty, but Puel was very pleased at the end. “It was a good result for the confidence,” he continued.
“It was important after our game against Hull City to show something, with all this good work and with intensity.
“It was a strong game, with a strong defensive unit, and in the spirit it was very interesting, because all the players did fantastic work together.
“For the spirit and the solidarity it was a strong game. Now it’s another game, and another game at home, against another team and it will be important to have good possession, good possibilities to attack.”
This is definitely a must-win for Arsenal as usual, but one extra reason we should we worried about our visit to St Mary’s is the crazy fact that we have not won there in the League since 2003….
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