Arsenal vs Southampton Match Report :
First Half :
The beginning of the match was utterly horrifying for the Arsenal fans as Southampton got the first breakthrough in the match from a mistake committed by the experienced campaigner Per Mertesacker. Charlie Austin scored with a combination play with Dusan Tadic and put the Saints ahead in the match at 3rd minute of the match.
At 7th minute, Southampton had the chance of doubling their lead when Redmond gave a square pass to Charlie Austin who hit the post from the first time effort though the flag was up for offside.
Arsenal forward Alexandre Lacazette was getting isolated at the upfront of the field and Arsenal were trying long balls towards him. Southampton were defending with all men at the back to keep the lead in the match and Arsenal players were unable to find the killer pass at the upfront.
Moments later Sanchez tried to play the ball towards Bellerin charging from a clearance of a corner. But he was unable to find Lacazette in the box as Hojbjerg dispossessed him completely. Bellerin again tried to give a ball from the right flank but Van Dijk was there to rescue the Saints.
James Ward Prowse had taken the charge then and pushed the ball forward in some occasions but was not able to get another goal. Alexis Sanchez was also trying hard in front of the Southampton Goal but couldn’t find the break through. Southampton also got some chances but Austin could not able to convert them into goal. The first half had ended with Southampton leading by one goal.
Second Half :
Mesut Ozil started to become an influential player in the first half and that has continued after the break but could not provide the decisive pass to the forwards. It was all attacking approach from the Arsenal team after the first half. Southampton Players were unable to keep possession and giving Arsenal more sight of the ball in the second half.
Aaron Ramsey got the ball in Southampton box and fired a shot towards goal and Lacazette’s rebound effort was also not on target. At 62nd minute Oriol Romeu had a clear chance to double the lead for the Saints but his effort came back off the post.
Danny Welbeck was on for Per Mertesacker. Arsenal switch to a back four with Nacho Monreal and Laurent Koscielny the two central defenders. Jack Wilshere also came in place of Granit Xhaka in the field. Nathan Redmond got a beautiful chance upfront but Southampton were not able to find another goal. Boufal came in place of Redmond for Southampton and Giroud came in place of Lacazette to provide some change in the fortune of the match.
And again Olivier Giroud proved to be the game changer for Arsenal. Alexis Sanchez had time on the left to cross with his right foot. His chipped pass was met in the middle by Olivier Giroud to nod in his seventh goal of the season and potentially rescued this game for Arsenal at 87th minute of the match. Neither teams were able to get the winning goal at the stoppage time of the match and it ended with a stalemate of 1-1.
Full Time : Southampton 1-1 Arsenal
Player Ratings
Southampton
Foster – 7/10
Stephens -8/10
Yoshida – 6.5/10
Van Dijk – 6/10
Bertrand – 7/10
Højbjerg – 6.5/10
Romeu – 7/10
Ward-Prowse – 6/10
Tadic – 8.5/10
Redmond – 6.5/10
Austin – 7.5/10
Subs Ratings:
Boufal – 6/10
Gabbidiani – N.A
Davis – N.A
Arsenal
Cech – 8/10
Bellerin – 6.5/10
Koscielny – 7/10
Mertesacker – 5/10
Monreal – 6/10
Bellerin 6/10
Xhaka – 6/10
Ramsey – 7/10
Kolasinac – 7.5/10
Ozil – 7/10
Alexis – 7.5/10
Lacazette – 6/10
Subs Ratings:
Welbeck – 5.5/10
Wilshere – 6.5/10
Giroud – 8/10
