Why Arsenal’s Victory Over Southampton Was Their Best Of The Season
Before, I get bombarded with hate messages and my mother’s name is tainted with obscene curse words, at least read the whole article till its end, understand my logic and then attack me, if needs be.
On Saturday, the in-form Arsenal squad was able to successfully pick-off and beat the surprisingly formidable Southampton. Mauricio Pochettino has got his side playing some wonderful football as well as having a solid backline this season, and the tie was anticipated that this game would be a big challenge for league leaders Arsenal, even though at the Emirates Stadium. However, to the surprise of many people, including myself, Arsenal were able to dispatch of the Saints with relative ease.
Arséne Wenger was able to recall Jack Wilshere and Per Mertescker to the Arsenal squad, in place of suspended Mathieu Flamini and Thomas Vermaelen, respectively. Wenger was also afforded the luxury of having added attacking firepower on the bench with long-term absentee Theo Walcott joining Tomas Rosicky, who had recovered from a stomach bug. The only change to the Southampton team which had destroyed Hull City earlier was that Jus Hooiveld came in to cover for the absence of Dejan Lovren.
Arséne Wenger’s men were able to beat the Saints thanks to an Olivier Giroud brace which consisted of an open goal finish after Artur Boruc committed a ridiculous mistake as well as a penalty dispatched following Fonte’s pulling off Mertesacker’s shirt in the area late on. While Southampton did have some chances, none of them were extremely dangerous and the formidable Arsenal defence was able to keep a clean sheet.
While this game did not include a dominating masterclass such as the one against Norwich, or defensive heroics such as the brilliant win at Dortmund, it was brilliant simply because it seemed as if it was the performance of champions. Arsenal were able to reduce Southampton’s chances and scoring two goals while creating next to nothing. It seemed reminiscent of Sir Alex Ferguson’s recent United sides and with Lukas Podolski back in training, this Arsenal squad seems well set for a genuine title challenge.
2 comments