Southampton 0-5 Arsenal: Who was your man of the match?
|Arsenal travelled to St. Mary’s Stadium to face Southampton in the fourth round of the FA cup. Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Ainsley Maitland-Niles featured in midfield for Arsenal while Rob Holding and Danny Welbeck were handed a starting place too as Arsenal eased through the tie with an early brace from ‘Dat Guy’ Danny Welbeck, followed by a Theo Walcott hat-trick.
This enthralling fixture produced some laudable performances, so let’s evaluate our top performers for you to pick your ‘Man of the Match’.
A) Danny Welbeck
Marking his first start since March 2016, Danny Welbeck started off with a bang, scoring a delightful opener over the Saints’ keeper in the fifteenth minute. This was followed by a delicate shot between the keeper’s legs to complete his brace.
Danny Welbeck’s contribution did not end there, as ten minutes before half time, he initiated a quick one-two with Lucas Perez to cut back into the box for Walcott to put it in. Welbeck showed great signs of fitness and looked in fine shape and gave Arsenal’s attack a different dimension. The fans would love to see more of him in the first-team.
B) Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain put in a stellar performance, bossing the midfield for Arsenal with precise passing and lovely diagonal balls. He partnered Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Ainsley Maitland-Niles in midfield and proved to be a vital part of Arsenal’s attacks.
He took the initiative, looking to cause problems for the Southampton back line and also successfully made a few decent defensive tackles to help sustain a clean sheet. He showed good determination and strength throughout the match and is n viable option for Wenger in midfield.
C) Jeff Reine-Adelaide
One of the Arsenal men that caught the eye in this fixture was Jeff Reine-Adelaide, who provided Arsenal with pace and fluidity in midfield. He showed promise early on and then continued to build on to put in a solid performance for Arsenal.
Adelaide showed a lot of maturity in his midfield role, something that is very surprising for a player that has only turned 19 this month. Wenger will be extremely pleased with Adelaide’s performance against Southampton, the youngster could well be a big player for Arsenal in the future.
D) Theo Walcott
Theo Walcott marked his first start this year – having picked up an injury in December – to come back and score a treble on his return. All three of Walcott’s goals could be arguably labelled as tap ins, but his determination and experience to find space in behind the defence was vital for Arsenal’s win.
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