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As wind and rain swirled around St Mary’s, an Arsenal team fueled by Bukayo Saka’s exuberance swept Southampton aside for revenge and clinched a fifth win in six Premier League matches. Nicolas Pépé nullified Stuart Armstrong’s sweet starter before goals from Saka and Alexandre Lacazette helped Arsenal focus on the top four after jumping to eighth, although almost everyone above them has games in hand.
At times Arsenal flowed back and forth with the ease of yesteryear, and for Mikel Arteta this result largely justifies his weakened selection in the FA Cup defeat here last weekend. Better yet, absent Kieran Tierney should return to Manchester United on Saturday, when incoming Martin Ødegaard could make his debut.
Saka celebrated her goal by making a heart shape with her hands and when Lacazette topped the scoreboard, she poignantly spelled the number 14, a nod to Pierre-Emerick Aubemeyang, who remains absent for personal reasons. Arteta dedicated the victory to her captain. “I love how they support each other and how they protect themselves,” said Arteta. “Auba is going through a difficult time. We are all behind him and this victory is for him. “
This game was played at such a frenetic pace that one could be forgiven for thinking it was a knockout competition. Southampton took the lead in the third minute when Armstrong encountered a James Ward-Prowse corner kick to send a rough half volley past Bernd Leno. A simulated run by Jack Stephens fooled Pépé and Armstrong thundered towards the penalty spot to finish. Eight of Southampton’s last 10 league goals have come from set pieces.
Arteta acknowledged that the Cup defeat exposed a lot of room for improvement, but for the Southampton pair who stepped into the boots of first-choice full-backs Ryan Bertrand and Kyle Walker-Peters, who missed due to suspension and injury respectively, it was a cruel lesson. . Yan Valery was caught on the wrong side of Pépé for Arsenal’s draw and on the opposite flank Jake Vokins was surprised by Saka’s incisive run, as Arsenal took the lead six minutes before the break. The reborn Granit Xhaka, who effortlessly sneaked into Pépé for the draw, was the catalyst again, this time feeding Lacazette, whose exquisite first pass found Saka. He coldly circled Alex McCarthy before firing into an empty net.
Ralph Hasenhüttl lamented the naivete of his team, acknowledging that they were soft goals that exposed a skeletal squad that wounded key players. “We are definitely running out of players right now,” he said. “But we shouldn’t be too negative, we have 29 points and we knew that this situation could come. We know that we are a good team if everything is perfect and we are in good shape. They seem to have a bit more quality than us. “
This was the third meeting between these teams in six weeks and there was a sense of deja vu in the way Southampton presented Arsenal with a series of first chances. First, Jan Bednarek was guilty of gifting possession directly to Xhaka, who sent Lacazette to goal within 50 seconds, only for McCarthy to deny the forward again. Then Arsenal’s draw stemmed from another sloppy pass off defense. Stephens wasted possession cheaply, allowing Saka to regain the ball before Xhaka played on Pépé, who sent a clean shot into the far corner.
Carlos Cuesta, the Arsenal assistant coach perched behind visiting substitutes, relentlessly encouraged Cédric Soares, Emile Smith Rowe and Lacazette, in particular, to squeeze Southampton’s back line into awkward avenues. Leno saved superbly from Che Adams in the first half and the Arsenal goalkeeper had to be on the alert in the second when Danny Ings danced into the area. Ings quickly passed Thomas Partey, Héctor Bellerín and Rob Holding, but at the firm he faced a towering Leno.
Willian replaced Smith Rowe with 20 minutes to go, but the Saints’ concern continued to tame Saka, who sent in a curling effort when he was released. They had been warned, and moments later Saka’s invention encouraged Lacazette to end and keep the wellness factor. “Bukayo is doing very well, all the time asking for more training and asking for areas to improve,” said Arteta. “Scoring goals is definitely one of those things.”
