5 October 2024
Arsenal 3 Southampton 1
Arsenal welcomed newly-promoted Southampton to The Emirates with the visitors struggling to adapt to life in the top-flight. On paper it seemed this would be a convincing win for The Gunners which prompted Arteta to rotate his squad. They have an injury crisis in the full-back position, resulting in Partey slotting in on the right.
Immediately the hosts piled the pressure on The Saints. Jesus had an early sight of goal but his shot struck the legs of a defender and deflected clear. On a rare foray forward Southampton had a shot at goal but Walker-Peters’ effort was tame and did not trouble Raya in the Arsenal goal. They would need to do a bit more than that if they were going to cause an upset.
The Gunners had the visitors on the back foot for the majority of the half but were struggling to find that final pass to unlock their defence. Jorginho came closest with a shot from just outside of the box but it narrowly went the wrong side of the post with Ramsdale at full-stretch. The former Arsenal keeper was facing his old side for the first time since his move to the south coast.
Credit where it is due to The Gunners’ fans, they gave him a brilliant reception as he jogged out towards his goal before the game started. It is always nice to see an ex-player get a warm reception rather than the usual hatred thrown their way from the stands. It remained to be seen whether that sentiment would remain if he were to deny them victory in this game.
Just before the interval Jesus played a pass out wide to give Sterling some space to run into. The tricky winger made a beeline for the box and checked onto his right foot with only one thing on his mind. His shot looked destined for the goal but for a headed block from Bednarek. The home fans had been given very little to get excited about in this first half.
As both sides headed in at the break, unbelievably, The Gunners had registered the same amount of shots on target as Southampton. It took some getting your head around considering The Saints had been camped out in their own half so much it was a wonder that ground staff had not charged them for pitching up for the weekend.
Dibling is the shining star in this Southampton team, that is of no doubt. Straight after the interval he went on a mazy run down the right wing and continued into the box. He looked to find a teammate in the middle but Fernandes’ effort just nestled onto the roof of the net. Had he got a cleaner connection on it, the visitors would have had the lead.
Arsenal came forward with Sterling but he went to ground under pressure from Fernandes. While he appealed to the referee for a foul, he waved play on. The Saints midfielder played a defence-splitting pass out wide to Archer. He headed into the box, cut onto his right foot, and stroked a shot past Raya and into the far corner. This was not in the script.
They say you are never at your most vulnerable in football as when you have just scored a goal. Or in this instance, have Harwood-Bellis in your side. He gave the ball away as a poor pass was intercepted and it was promptly played forward to Havertz. As the defender stood off him, he shifted onto his left foot and shot from outside the box. It struck the inside of the post and into the back of the net.
It was a great strike from the German and the visitors had led this game for a grand total of three minutes. The game had started to open up and Saka swung an inviting cross into the back post. Martinelli was completely unmarked and swept the ball past Ramsdale to give Mikel Arteta’s side the lead. In the space of thirteen minutes Southampton had gone from ecstasy to agony.
Saka started to get more joy out on the right the longer the game went on. He twisted and turned in the box before making some room to get a shot off. Ramsdale got down well at his near post to deny his old teammate. Southampton needed to make themselves more of a threat down the other end of the pitch if they were going to get anything out of this game.
Dibling picked the ball up in the middle of the park and easily sent Trossard to the shops. His shot from outside the box took a deflection and clipped Raya’s far post and went out for a corner. Despite his full-stretch dive, the Spaniard was nowhere near this one had it been an inch or two closer. It gave Russell Martin’s side a glimmer of hope.
From the resulting corner, Raya went all David James as he flapped at a cross and the ball struck Harwood-Bellis onto his teammate Armstrong. Neither player really knew much about their contributions but the ball struck the crossbar and came back out into play. It has been a while since we have seen the keeper’s comedy routines but he always has one in the locker for special occasions.
Trossard then ran at the visitors’ defending and their attempts to stop him were just as madcap. Two players got a weak touch on the ball before it ran into the path of Saka. He made no mistake as he stroked the ball home to ensure that his side were to get the win in North London. The Emirates erupted as the ball nestled in the back of the net.
It was a much-needed win for The Gunners, with Liverpool having won in the early kick-off. They keep the pressure on The Reds and remain just one point behind them. There were some positives for Southampton to take from the game but you cannot help but worry for their plight in securing their Premier League status for a second season.
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