Southampton vs Arsenal – Match Preview

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It is fair to say that life in the Premier League did not get off to the perfect start for Ralph Husenhattl as he witnessed his new Southampton side become masters of their downfall away at Cardiff last weekend.

It looked as if the Saints were going to be good value for at least a point but a defensive error late on handed Neil Warnock’s men a vital win, one that takes the Bluebirds as high as fourteenth place going into this weekend’s action.

And this weekend sees Husenhattl take charge of Southampton at St Mary’s for the first time as they entertain an Arsenal side who are still unbeaten in the Premier League since August. However, it is a run that still sees them lying only fifth in the table at present.

The Gunners find themselves two points behind their arch rivals Tottenham as we prepare for this next set of fixtures, however with Tottenham facing Burnley 24 hours before there is every possibility that the gap could be extended to five.

If that is the case, then the pressure will be heaped on Unai Emery’s men to make sure that they earn maximum points on the South Coast and if they are to do so then it is going to take a patched up defence to achieve their objective.

That is because Rob Holding is out for the season through injury, while Sokratis and Shkodran Mustafi are both suspended. This means that Unai Emery is incredibly light when it comes to defensive options this weekend.

Could this still be the underlying issue that stops them from achieving the top four dream come the end of the season, I guess that is a question that we cannot answer until the end of next May. However, they will certainly offer up an element of susceptibility to Southampton on Sunday.

This perhaps then offers up another question though, just as to whether or not Southampton can take full advantage of any gifts that come their way. With the lowest shot conversion ratio in the Premier League this season, you would have to say perhaps not.

The Saints have no trouble creating chances in the final third, it’s just they don’t have a finisher to put the ball in the back of the net. Something that will most definitely be a priority for the club in the upcoming January sales.

At the same time this is not a situation that is going to be rectified for the next few weeks, so the new Southampton manager is going to have to make do with what the personnel that he currently has available in the hope that they can pick up a positive result.

The phrase ‘new manager bounce’ is often referred when someone else takes the reigns, unfortunately for Southampton it won’t be something we see on Sunday as Arsenal ease their way to another three points and keep themselves in the race for the Champions League places.