Arsenal 2021: Southampton Double
Southampton: FA Cup January 23, 2021
”And the holders are out of the FA Cup, knocked out by Southampton at St Mary’s in the 4th round”.
Theres always something special about this cup and i am gutted we weren’t able to progress tonight and will readily applaud Southampton for their performance. They were the better team and they outplayed Arsenal for most of the game, especially in the first half. Southampton were high in energy and were sharper and Arsenal couldnt answer to what they brought to the table.
I would attribute Southampton’s dominance at Arsenal’s team selection. Cedric played at left back and Willian, Pepe and Nketiah were all back n the sqaud. The starting eleven just werent clicking and they struggled with the pressure Southampton placed on them. Arsenal tried playing from the back and were many times sloppy and paid the price for it.
The most frustrating thing was every chance Arsenal got were kicked off target and some even sky rocket over the bar! They can at least test the keeper. Willian is really not good enough and a waste of wages at the moment. A shadow of the player he was at Chelsea. Then there Nketiah.. who I can’t even say much because if you don’t know him, yea there’s a reason why. Pepe is a strange one. On one hand he has the quality and on the other he doesn’t have the confidence. Or maybe the style of play does not suit him. Either way 72 million pounds still unjustified.
Arsenal made changes in the second half and had a spell where they looked like they were going to score but ultimately didn’t. it was just one of those days where you could sense Arsenal was not going to get anything out of the game. And in hindsight, should not have brought on Saka and Laca. Partey needed the minutes.
Secondly, the officials were up to naught today. Bad calls at both ends affected the outcome of the game and they really need to improve for the integrity of football. I wont go in much on it because there’s just no point.
Its back at St Mary’s on Tuesday for Premier League action and Arsenal should be able to field a better 11 then than today and will be hopeful that the Southampton players will be slightly tired as they did field a strong team today and they do have a high energy game. 3 points there would be invaluable.
Southampton: Premier League January 27, 2021 - Revenge!
Days ago Arsenal were knocked out of the FA Cup in the 4th round by Southampton at St Mary’s and that defeat was avenged by Arsenal beating the same team at the same venue, 3-1.
It was a very good victory, and things got busy from the get go. It started with Lacazette’s shot being saved in the first minute and Southampton capitalized from a corner in the 4th. It was a good set piece, one that came off right from the training ground. And Arsenal conceded their first goal in 5 Premier League games. The game was filled with intensity in the first 15 minutes with both teams trading presses and counters until Arsenal got the breakthrough and equalised. The goal came from Xhaka’s throughball to Pepe, who did well to shield off a challenge and slot it pass the keeper. Cedric later came close with a volley as both teams searched to get ahead. Arsenal’s persistence paid off as Xhaka collected a ball in the air and passed it to Lacazette who quickly played it to Saka with the first touch (brilliant ball btw) and Saka had it all to do and rounded the keeper for the lead. Xhaka to Laca to Saka. Exquisite.
The remainder of the game was less eventful as fatigue crept in. it showed when Martinelli was about to come in for Pepe, but instead Smith-Rowe had to come off for Willian because of a knocked. He looked out of breath and he should be, he has been running his socks off everytime he is on the pitch. If Odegaard comes in, it will help provide much needed cover in that position. Anyway, in the midst of this substitution, Pepe was cautioned as the ref thought he was taking his time getting off. Poor officiating again. When Willian came on, you just sensed that he was going to mess things up again but he won a ball, played it to Cedric, and Cedric a right footer playing left back, played a diagonal ball to the right to Saka (pass of the game) who drove in across the face of goal for Lacazette to tap in. At 3-1, the game looked done and that was how the rest of it played out.
With that Arsenal rose to 8th in the Premier League, 5 points behind West Ham in 4th (impressive run from them, they won 3-2 against Palace). Arsenal should be good to properly challenge for top 4 right? Not quite, because the teams around Arsenal at the moment haven’t played the same number of games (Arsenal played 20). Everton at 7th has only played 17 games, same goes for Villa at 9th. Even Stupid Spuds has only played 18 and they are 6th. Then theres Southampton, Chelsea, Liverpool, who all have a game in hand over Arsenal. Assuming these teams wins their games in hand (which is improbable seeing that some are scheduled to play each other) Arsenal would be knocked right back down to 11th, strapped in the bottom half.
So yes, it has been a mini resurgence and the form has been good, 16 points from the available 18, but theres still a long way before any proper celebrations. It was nice to get revenge and now move on to focus on Manchester United, the real in form team at the moment. They aren’t top right now as City occupies the summit, but they will be after they beat Sheffield United tonight. Despite it being played at the Emirates, it will be a difficult fixture to get three points. If Arsenal could start their strongest team, they would have a good chance of winning, but the substitutions to Smith-Rowe and Partey is a concern, along with the already injured Ceballos and Tierney. We hope these players can get fit in time.
Written by Syed