Southampton vs Arsenal: Match Preview

Arsenal’s return to Premier League football proved to be a reminder of how far the club has fallen in recent years after a 3-0 loss to Manchester City and a 2-1 defeat to 15th placed Brighton at the weekend. The latter result was perhaps the more difficult for Arsenal fans to take after an improved display where Nicolas Pepe took the lead, only for Neal Maupay to complete a comeback late on.

Having being the only remaining side to be beaten in the Premier League before the return, it is now back-to-back defeats for the gunners as they look to the trip to St Mary’s to pick up on their form.

Arsenal still find themselves needing the best possible outcomes in their remaining nine Premier League games and despite certain fans opinions, it is not beyond the realms of possibilities for Arsenal to finish in a European football spot.

During Arsenal’s set back against Mikel Arteta’s former club City last week, both Pablo Mari and Granit Xhaka were forced off early due to injuries and David Luiz’s red card means that he misses the next two Premier League games. Bernd Leno’s unfortunate fall means that he will spend around 6 weeks on the sidelines despite the early predictions of a lengthier spell. Late on Tuesday night, Arsenal announced that more depressing news – Gabriel Martinelli has suffered a knee injury in training and will also face a lengthy treatment process. Both Granit Xhaka and Sokratis are fit for selection. Heres the latest team updates ahead of Southampton vs Arsenal: 

Southampton

• Position: 14th
• P30 W11 D4 L15
• Form:  LLWLLW
• Injuries: None
• Suspensions: Moussa Djenepo

Arsenal

• Position: 10th
• P30 W9 D13 L8
• Form: DWWWLL
• Injuries: Pablo Mari (Ankle), Lucas Torreira (Ankle), Calum Chambers (Knee), Cedric Soares (Face), Bernd Leno (Knee), Gabriel Martinelli (Knee)
• Suspensions: David Luiz

Predicted Line-Up (4-2-3-1) 

After three months without a Premier League game, Arsenal returned to face Manchester City and Brighton within the space of three days, meaning that squad rotation would be vital in ensuring minimal injuries and best results for Mikel Arteta. The introduction of an extra two substitutions will relieve pressure ever so slightly, but we expect to see some obvious changes in the Arsenal side due to injuries, suspensions and results.

Goalkeeper: Emi Martinez

Defence: Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis, Kieran Tierney

Defensive Midfield: Granit Xhaka, Matteo Guendouzi

Attacking Midfield: Nicolas Pepe, Mesut Ozil, Bukayo Saka

Forward: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang