Preview: Arsenal vs Southampton – stats, team news, line-ups
After their continental exploits, Arsenal return to Premier League action on Saturday afternoon as they play host to relegation contenders Southampton at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners are in phenomenal form and are still yet to taste defeat across all competitions this season.
Mikel Arteta’s troops made light work of Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday evening, claiming a 2-0 victory over the French champions on home turf.
Meanwhile, Southampton will journey to north London on the back of a deflating 3-1 defeat to Bournemouth that left them confined to the relegation zone with just one point to their name.
Southampton are one of just five teams in the Premier League yet to taste victory, so they’ll head to the Emirates determined to end their winless run, but they’re under no illusions regarding the task at hand.
Another routine victory could be on the cards for the Gunners, and fans have already started purchasing their Arsenal vs Southampton tickets from Seatsnet.com to get the best seats at the Emirates.
It would take a colossal capitulation for Arsenal to come away from this weekend’s contest with anything other than a win, but they’d be silly to write off their opponents, given the volatile nature of the Premier League.
Match Preview
Arsenal extended their remarkable unbeaten streak this season to nine games across all competitions after claiming a comfortable 2-0 win over PSG.
Kai Havertz gave Arsenal the lead 20 minutes into the game, heading home an inswinging cross from Leandro Trossard before Bukayo Saka doubled their advantage a quarter hour later.
The two-goal cushion in the first half proved to be the difference between both sides, and Arteta’s side were also good value for their clean sheet against a toothless PSG side.
Having drawn their opening Champions League game against Europa League holders Atalanta in Bergamo, Arsenal needed a win to boost their chances of claiming an automatic spot in the knockout phase.
The north London giants are perched in eighth position on the new league phase standings, but they could drop out of the top eight after Wednesday’s round of fixtures.
Returning to Premier League football, Arsenal will be keen to pick up where they left off after surviving a scare in the 4-2 win over Leicester City.
They seemed headed for a comfortable victory heading into the half-time interval as goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Trossard gave Arteta’s side a two-goal cushion.
However, a 16-minute brace from James Justin stunned the Emirates into silence, and the Foxes showed incredible resilience to keep the Gunners at bay, largely thanks to goalkeeper Mads Hermansen’s heroics.
The Championship winners were ultimately undone by an own goal from Wilfred Ndidi in second-half stoppage time before Havertz wrapped up the three points later on.
Arsenal will be hoping for a more comfortable victory against a miserable Southampton side that are still winless in the Premier League.
The Saints’ only point came against fellow promoted side Ipswich Town, and they’ve struggled to get going in the Premier League, netting just three times and conceding 12 in six games.
Martin’s side were uninspiring in Monday’s defeat by Bournemouth, and they’ll need something really special to come away from the Emirates with a positive result.
Key Stats
Surprisingly, Arsenal are winless against Southampton in their last three meetings, although their last win against the Cherries came at the Emirates.
They claimed a 3-0 win over Ralph Hasenhutl’s side in December 2021, thanks to goals from Alexandre Lacazette, Martin Odegaard, and Gabriel Magalhaes.
Since then, Arsenal have failed to win any of their subsequent three games against the Saints (D2, L1), including back-to-back draws.
In fact, Arsenal have won just two of their last seven games against Southampton across all competitions (D3, L2), but they’ll go into Saturday’s contest as overwhelming favourites.
Arsenal are one of only two sides that are still unbeaten in the Premier League (alongside Man City) and have embarked on a winning streak since claiming a hard-fought point against the reigning champions.
Arteta’s troops have won their last three games in a row by a combined scoreline of 11-3 and are heavily fancied to put the Saints to the sword on home turf this weekend.
Southampton, on the other hand, have only tasted victory in the EFL Cup this season, swatting aside former Championship rivals Cardiff City 5-3 in the second round.
Since then, they have been winless in five games (D3, L2), although they did eliminate Everton from the League Cup via a dramatic penalty shoot-out.
Team news & potential line-ups
Arsenal are as they were on the injury front after emerging from the Champions League victory against PSG unscathed, so there shouldn’t be any fresh concerns for Arteta to worry about.
Summer signing Mikel Merino finally made his debut for the Gunners against PSG after shaking off a shoulder injury.
However, he will start the game against Southampton on the bench, with Arteta set to integrate him into the team gradually.
Gunners skipper Martin Odegaard remains a long-term absentee as he continues his rehabilitation from an ankle problem.
Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney are also sidelined for the foreseeable future due to calf and hamstring injuries, respectively.
Takehiro Tomiyasu is progressing well in his recovery from a knee injury but will sit out the Southampton clash while the Gunners are still sweating over Ben White’s fitness.
The England international hasn’t featured for Arsenal since making a cameo appearance in the pulsating 2-2 draw against reigning Premier League champions Man City.
However, Jurrien Timber has deputised admirably for White and is expected to retain his place at right back, with Riccardo Calafiori lining up on the other flank.
Over at Southampton, Russell Martin has confirmed that he has no fresh injury concerns ahead of this weekend’s daunting trip to the Emirates to face last season’s runners-up.
However, the Saints will be boosted by the return of defensive stalwart Jack Stephens, who served his third and final game of his three-match suspension during the defeat to Bournemouth.
Gavin Bazunu and Kamaldeen Sulemana are sidelined for the trip to Arsenal with Achilles and ankle injuries, respectively.
Will Smallbone is also nursing a hamstring problem, but he’s in contention to feature against Arsenal, although that depends on whether or not he passes a late fitness test.
Martin ripped into his squad after their lethargic display against Bournemouth, but there’s a decent chance he’ll stick with the same squad at the Emirates this weekend.
Arsenal potential starting line-up:
(4-3-3): David Raya; Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Riccardo Calafiori; Kai Havertz, Thomas Partey, Declan Rice; Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli.
Southampton potential starting line-up:
(4-2-3-1): Aaron Ramsdale; Yukinari Sugawara, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Jan Bednarek, Charlie Taylor; Adam Lallana, Flynn Downes; Tyler Dibling, Mateus Fernandes, Ryan Fraser; Cameron Archer.
