Arsenal: Exploit The Flanks, Play Wilshere And Stay Tight To Lallana To Beat Southampton

Premier League leaders Arsenal travel to Hampshire tonight as they take on Southampton. The Saints have won just two of their last six league games, while the Gunners have won five on the spin, so it’ll be the away fans that will be the more confident of the two, I would have thought. But how can Arsenal ensure that they beat Southampton? Here is how I see it.

Firstly, Arsenal are a side who like to pop the ball around the pitch, but Saints are a side who like to stop that from happening by pressing in numbers and at a high tempo. To bypass the oncoming waves of players, I would suggest that Arsenal exploit the wings. With Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil and Serge Gnabry likely to take up the attacking roles, there is enough pace and creativity to give two attacking full-backs -Luke Shaw and Nathaniel Clyne –  a hard time.  

Constant pressure down the wings could push those two back as well, but when they get forward then there could be space to exploit.

I would also keep Wilshere in the side over Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta, as both are returning from injury and Wilshere is in fine form. The 22-year-old has three assists and three goals to his name this season.

Lastly, I would look to smother Adam Lallana, who is their main threat. He glues the Southampton midfield together and makes things happen, so should Flamini restrict that then it would cut off a lot of options.