To say that this past weekend was a difficult one for Arsenal Football Club is a vast understatement. Since winning six out of their past seven Premier League games, with only a hard-fought loss to title contenders Liverpool, the Gunners have been in a recent form of disarray. After back-to-back losses away to Crystal Palace and home to Brighton, Arsenal were hoping to get back on the winning side of things when they visited the south coast of England at Southampton this past Saturday. Earlier in the day, top-4 and North London rival Tottenham Hotspur had lost at home to Brighton and created a golden opportunity for Arsenal to regain their standing in the last Champions League spot at 4th on the league table. However, things did not go so well for the Gunners.
Before the game even began you could have argued that Arsenal had already lost, with main pieces in the side injured for the foreseeable future with the likes of defensive midfielder Thomas Partey ruled out with a thigh injury, and outside backs Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney both out as well. The Gunners lined up in a 4-2-3-1, a consistent formation that they’ve seen success with throughout this season, with Aaron Ramsdale in goal and Nuno Tavares, Gabriel Magalhães, Ben White, and Cedric Soares rounding out the defense. Granit Xhaka and Albert Sambi Lokonga were given the start at the defensive pivot in midfield, with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli on the wings, and Martin Ødegaard in an advanced role behind Eddie Nketiah at the striker position.
Key Moments
The Gunners had an early chance in the 17th minute when Nketiah broke away toward goal from 40 yards out and found Martinelli on the right side. The 20-year-old Brazillian whipped a cross to Saka who hit it with one touch and Southampton’s goalkeeper Fraser Forster spectacularly saved the one-on-one chance. The Saints capitalized off of lackluster Arsenal defending in the 44th minute. A cross had been punched out by Ramsdale but the ball was quickly sent back down the left side of the box and squared in the middle at the 6-yard line leading to an easy top-shelf finish by defender Jan Bednarek. Southampton up 1-0 at the half.
The second half was dominated by Arsenal in terms of controlling the game through possession and side-to-side passes around the halfway line. A moment of near-brilliance by 20-year-old English International Bukayo Saka in the 64th minute when he received the ball on the right side of the 18-yard box. Saka dribbled with ease past three Saints defenders and hit a curling shot from 20 yards out that missed the far side of the goal by the smallest of margins. The Gunners’ pressure continued in the 73rd minute when Saka crossed the ball into the box which landed 8 yards from the goal where substitute attacking midfielder Emilie Smith Rowe struck the ball to the right side of the goal. Southampton’s goalkeeper Forster once again came up with another quick-reflex save to keep the Saints ahead. In the final stages of the match, midfielder Granit Xhaka found the ball without considerable pressure just inside the 18 and took a finesse shot which was once again denied by Forster.
The match ended 1-0 with the advantage to the home side. Arsenal generally had most of the possession throughout the game, holding the ball 75.7% of the time to Southampton’s measly 24.3%. The expected goals (XG) for the game were Arsenal (1.73) and Southampton (1.05). The Gunners look to get back in the win column on Wednesday when they travel across London to ‘Big Six’ rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.