Ronald Koeman looks crushed, standing on the touchline, unable to take it in. You have to feel for Southampton. They gave as good as they got for long periods and were desperately unlucky first to lose Dusan Tadic and Jack Cork after they were on the receiving end of poor challenges and then when Toby Alderweireld injured his hamstring, leaving Southampton with 10 men. That opened it up for Arsenal and Alexis Sanchez pounced, meaning it’s a second successive defeat for Southampton, who stay third. Arsenal go sixth, a point behind West Ham and two behind Manchester United. Thanks for reading. Night.
Full-time: Arsenal 1-0 Southampton
The points are Arsenal’s!
90 min+3: Arsenal scream for a penalty as Sanchez goes down under a challenge from Yoshida. A corner is given instead. It’s taken short and Sanchez darts in from the right, only to be fouled by Mane just outside the area.
90 min+2: Podolski crashes an angled shot wide from the left. Southampton are done.
90 min+1: There will be three minutes of stoppage time but the jig is up for Southampton. Wanyama loses the ball near his own area and Giroud and Ramsey combine for a chance for the latter, whose shot is blocked by Forster’s chest.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Southampton (Sanchez, 89 min)
The pressure tells! It had to tell. It was always going to tell. Southampton were wobbling. Chambers cracked a low ball into the area. It came to Giroud and the ball flashed up into the air, where Fonte appeared to handle it. Marriner ignored those claims and the ball ran to Ramsey on the right of the area. He turned it back into the six-yard box and there was Sanchez to tap it past Forster, who’s finally beaten. Who else?
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87 min: Southampton waste some time in the Arsenal half. How they needed that. But not for long, because here come Arsenal. Podolski drives a searching cross into the area and it finds Giroud. His header looks like it’s looping over Forster but somehow he throws himself to his right and claws it away! What a save!
84 min: Alderweireld is off. This would now be a huge point for Southampton. Podolski pops up on the edge of the Southampton area but his shot lacks venom.
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83 min: Southampton are going to end the game with 10 men. Toby Alderweireld is down with a hamstring injury and can’t continue. They’ve had no luck with injuries tonight.
81 min: Southampton make their final change, Emmanuel Mayuka coming on for Shane Long. Arsenal also make a substitution, Lukas Podolski on for Danny Welbeck. Can he win it for Arsenal with a thrash of that left foot?
79 min: Ramsey’s shot is blocked. Southampton counter. Long cuts inside from the right and tees up Mane, whose shot - which may have been goalbound - hits an Arsenal defender. Southampton are attacking when the opportunity arises.
77 min: Mane wonks an effort over from 25 yards.
76 min: Wanyama is booked for hauling down Giroud.
75 min: Southampton relieve the pressure with a foray into Arsenal territory. Clyne runs at Monreal, forcing him back, but his cross lands on the roof of the net.
73 min: Southampton’s fans cheer ironically as they’re awarded a free-kick. They reckon they’ve been on the end of some unfair decisions. “How on earth wasn’t Giroud in the lineup?” says Rolf Wilhelm. “He is miles ahead of Oxlade and Welbeck.” Well he’s only just back from injury.
72 min: Now Southampton can’t get out of their half. It’s going to be frantic.
70 min: Arsenal have woken up! Sanchez finds Giroud on the edge of the area. He backheels it to Welbeck, who tries to curl it into the far corner with his right foot, only for Forster to push it away! Giroud can’t force the rebound home. Corner. Cleared. But the pressure is growing and it could be a long last 20 minutes for the visitors.
69 min: Sanchez pings a diagonal pass over the top of the Southampton defence from right to left, beautifully into the path of Giroud. From an angle, he hits it first time - well, but straight at Forster, who beats it away. It comes to Welbeck. He can’t get a shot away. It comes to Cazorla. His shot is blocked.
67 min: Alderweireld slides a pass inside Chambers but Mane is on his heels and Chambers recovers. Alderweireld has a go at Mane, who could do with waking up. He was very disappointing against City on Sunday.
65 min: Chambers fires a cross into the area. It’s cleared by Clyne but only as far as Cazorla. He sets up Ramsey, who rattles wide from 20 yards. Time for a change. The board goes up and it’s got Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s number on it, leading to a chorus of boos from the Arsenal fans. Olivier Giroud comes on in his place.
63 min: A long pass from Ramsey drifts over Monreal and out for a goal-kick. Arsenal are struggling to establish any cohesion in their play and their fans are getting increasingly edgy. Olivier Giroud will be on soon. He scored both goals when Arsenal won this fixture 2-0 last season.
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61 min: Cazorla scoops one harmlessly over the bar from the edge of the area. Southampton respond by introducing Sadio Mane for a very miffed Dusan Tadic, who’s still feeling the effects of that foul by Cazorla.
60 min: Southampton are warming up Sadio Mane, getting him ready to come on for Dusan Tadic.
58 min: Both sides have plonked a lot of crosses straight into the arms of the goalkeepers. You’d think they’d learn. Meanwhile Tadic is being booed by the Arsenal fans for having the temerity to be fouled. There’s something ironic about that, isn’t there.
56 min: Tadic is down in some pain after coming off worse in a challenge with Cazorla, who’s trod on the Serbian quite heavily. Southampton get the free-kick and Tadic is up but limping a lot.
55 min: Southampton are playing with added freedom now. Arsenal are becoming indolent.
53 min: Arsenal continue to pass the ball sloppily. They’ve not really been at it tonight. Yet. But you sense they have an extra gear that may be too much for Southampton should they locate it.
51 min: Arsenal are caught on the counter-attack. No, really. Wanyama releases Long on the right and he races clear, with Pelle in space in the middle. Long ploughs into the area but ignores Pelle and blazes over from 18 yards. Choices, choices. Pelle isn’t happy and nor is Koeman. “Good choice of game to MBM,” says an approving John Willoug. “I’m a Spurs fan, so between Chelsea Vs Spurs (where the Spurs have no, zero, absolutely not a hope-in-hell, chance of winning) Vs following Arsenal Vs Southampton (where Arsenal have a reasonable chance of losing) it’s a no-brainer for me as covert mid-afternoon distraction from work entertainment.”
49 min: Southampton look to cause some mischief on the right. Ramsey stops Clyne but then needlessly concedes a corner, accidentally taking the ball behind with an errant touch. Oh dear. Whoopsy daisy. Southampton take the corner short, Tadic finding Clyne on the edge of the area. Hearts are momentarily in Arsenal mouths, the memory of Clyne’s thunderbolt here in the League Cup still raw. But instead he curls a cross to the far post, where Southampton have an overload. Pelle takes it on his chest and tries a volley, but he’s denied by a crucial block.
48 min: I’ve just finished my bottle of water three minutes into the second half. This is a disaster.
47 min: Ramsey decides to have a shot from 30 yards but skews it a good few yards high and wide. That was not the remit for this second half. Remember, lads: better football. BETTER.
46 min: Let’s have some more football! Some better football, if that’s at all possible.
Half-time: Arsenal 0-0 Southampton
A subdued first half is brought to a close. See you in 15 minutes.
45 min+1: In the first of two minutes of added time, Foster makes an excellent save to keep Southampton level. Cazorla curled a free-kick into the area from the left and Welbeck’s header flicked off Alderweireld and was going to fly under the bar until Forster arced his back and tipped the ball over. Outstanding reflexes from the Southampton goalkeeper.
44 min: Wanyama easily wins a battle of strength with Sanchez in Arsenal’s half and plays a pass inside to Pelle in space. He strides forward and has a pop from 25 yards. It takes a deflection and Martinez holds it comfortably enough.
43 min: Alderweireld picks up the first booking of the evening for taking out Alexis Sanchez in the centre circle after being caught on the wrong side of the Chilean.
41 min: Tadic slips a pass down the inside-right channel to Pelle, who breaks away from Koscielny, only for his cross to be cleared with no one up in support with him. That’s been the story of the half.
40 min: Tadic hoicks the corner to the far post but Martinez isn’t flustered and catches it under pressure. He’s had a promising start to his Arsenal career.
39 min: Sanchez is unhappy and limping a bit after a stud in the calf from Wanyama. Arsene Wenger engages in healthy debate with the fourth official about the lack of a yellow card for Wanyama. Up the other end, Tadic sends Clyne haring down the right and he wins a corner.
36 min: Maya Yoshida makes a dog’s dinner out of a clearance and Welbeck almost scores! Oxlade-Chamberlain’s low cross to the near post from the right was completely missed by Yoshida and fell to Welbeck. With his back to goal, he improvised and tried to backheel it in but it was diverted off target by a combination of Fonte and Forster. Goal-kick to Southampton, then.
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33 min: Long and Tadic have switched flanks. Is that interesting? I suppose it is. It could turn out to be significant.
32 min: Monreal scampers on to a pass from Sanchez but Long blocks his cross behind for a corner. Cazorla trots over to take it and gives the Arsenal fans a little wave. Then his corner is headed away by Pelle.
31 min: An entertaining match is struggling to break out, if only everyone would stop getting in the way and making errors and tackles.
29 min: Southampton replace Jack Cork with Maya Yoshida. Like against City, Alderweireld will move into midfield.
28 min: There’s a suggestion that Shane Long might not last much longer. Sadio Mane could be on soon for Southampton. While that’s going on, Welbeck steams into the Southampton area and trips over his own feet. That dealt with, Jack Cork signals to the bench that he can’t continue after that whack he took from Aaron Ramsey.
26 min: Forster makes a good save to deny Oxlade-Chamberlain! Sanchez turns a superb pass round the corner to Cazorla, who sharply stabs a pass to Welbeck. He’s held off by Alderweireld, just, but Oxlade-Chamberlain is on to the loose ball in a clash, dancing round one challenge and then slamming a low shot on target from 15 yards, only for Forster to dive to his right and hold. Good football, good effort, good save. Good!
24 min: Cazorla produces a magnificent turn to send Bertrand wandering off down the Holloway Road, asking for directions back to the stadium, but the Spaniard’s cross is a waste. Arsenal’s final ball has been lacking.
23 min: This is a very tight match. Both sides have had a chance apiece but otherwise not much has happened in either area. Southampton are defending impressively.
22 min: I prefer Arsenal matches when Yaya Sanogo starts. “The whole thing is basically quite upsetting,” says Matt Cast, offering his opinion on the Vanarama advert.
21 min: Southampton breeze up the other end and Bertrand’s low fizzer takes a deflection towards the near post. Pelle nips in before Martinez and the ball goes behind, causing Andre Marriner to award a corner. It should have been a goal-kick. Oh well. We all all make mistakes and he’s made worse ones than that. Fortunately Southampton do not score, despite forcing two corners.
20 min: The ball ricochets off Alderweireld and goes behind before Forster can smash it clear. Corner to Arsenal. The crowd is amused. They chortle. But nothing comes from the corner. Arsenal should hire Sam Allardyce as a set-piece coach.
18 min: Long’s leg regains consciousness sufficiently enough for him to hook a cross into the area from the right. No Southampton player can take advantage.
17 min: Monreal gives Long a rap on the back of his leg over on the right flank. Long winces and stays down for a bit. Probably a dead leg.
16 min: Arsenal win a corner on the right, Alderweireld a little panicky with a clearance as Welbeck lurks behind him. The corner coms to nothing.
14 min: What a miss from Graziano Pelle! What a chance! Arsenal were caught cold as they complained that Southampton had taken a throw from the wrong place and were all over the place as Tadic escaped down the left and sent a cross into the area. It was headed away as far as the edge of the area, where Pelle was waiting. He turned impressively and then found Davis, who lofted a glorious pass back into his path. Pelle was through on goal and looked certain to score but instead wellied a volley horribly over from close range!
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11 min: Jack Cork has the ball 30 yards from goal. Aaron Ramsey steams through him with a bad challenge but because the ball runs to Victor Wanyama, around 45 yards out, Andre Marriner plays an advantage. Wanyama promptly knocks a pass out of play and Arsenal are awarded a throw. Southampton are annoyed and Cork is receiving treatment, although he looks like he can continue.
10 min: Graziano Pelle is without a goal in his past five matches for Southampton, which is a worry for them. He’s slowed down after a brilliant start and Southampton need him scoring again. He’s not offered much yet.
8 min: having survived that scare, Southampton attack and Steven Davis tries to curve a cross into the area for Pelle from the right. It’s a good ball but Martinez reads it well and is out quickly to claim the ball. “Gunnersaurus looks like he / she is limping a bit as he/ she runs off the pitch,” says Charles Antaki. “Some company for the others in the treatment room.”
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7 min: The commentator’s curse strikes. Cazorla finds space in front of the Southampton back four and pierces it with a perfectly judged pass through to Welbeck on the left of the area. He reaches it before Forster but slashes a poor effort miles wide of the near post with his left foot. He should have used his right and gone for the far corner. So as I was saying, it’s very cautious, a slow burner.
6 min: Southampton are looking calm in the early stages, keeping the ball well but not overcommitting. Not much has happened yet. It’s very cautious, a slow burner.
5 min: Bertrand tries a cross. It’s bad. Chambers heads it away.
3 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain injects some pace into the Arsenal attack, charging inside from the right, past one, past two, all stocky and speedy, but he just overruns it outside the area and Clyne clears. Southampton look to counter and Monreal’s caught on the ankle by Long. He felt that one.
2 min: A low-key start, both sides feeling each other out. Chambers, up against his old club, tries to bustle down the right but there’s no space. “Based on the one tweet from Mr/Dr.Kluitenberg I wonder if his love of marching means he models his style of fitness training on Lt Sobel’s penchant for feeding his troops spaghetti then have them run up Currahee,” says Ian Copestake.
And we’re off! Arsenal, kicking from right to left in the first half, get the game underway. Southampton are wearing their navy away kit and there are quite a few empty seats in the Emirates Stadium, presumably as supporters are enjoying one last round of refreshments.
Here come the teams. They’re greeted by warm applause and some chants of “Arsenal! Arsenal! Arsenal!” Then it’s time for Ray Winstone’s floating head to gurn at us.
A banner in the Arsenal end with Arsene Wenger’s face on it reads: “For the brave, nothing is too difficult.” Does that mean Arsenal aren’t brave enough?
The first seven seconds of the Vanarama advert are quite disturbing.
This is Andre Marriner’s first game in charge of Arsenal since that game against Chelsea. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is playing but Kieran Gibbs is on the bench. Phew!
“We’ve got to get pitchside now and really ramp it up,” says Fletch off Fletch and Sav. It’s over to Jake Humphreys, who’s nodding sympathetically at the camera as he speaks mournfully about Southampton.
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“Do you mean rio is dressed like a lumbersexual?” says Walker Boyd. Maybe. I’m not sure now. He is wearing a heavy green cardigan, a denim shirt and a dark green tie.
Rio Ferdinand is dressed like a cross between a farmer and a hipster tonight.
The loss of Schneiderlin will be pivotal. I expect Arsenal to win this Association Football match with some ease, perhaps by two goals to Southampton’s no goals.
The teams!
Arsenal play Danny Welbeck through the middle: Martinez; Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Ramsey, Flamini; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cazorla, Sanchez, Welbeck. Subs: Gibbs, Rosicky, Podolski, Giroud, Sanogo,
Bellerin, Macey.
Schneiderlinless Southampton: Forster; Clyne, Fonte, Alderweireld, Bertrand; Steven Davis, Wanyama, Cork; Long, Pelle, Tadic. Subs: Kelvin Davis, Yoshida, Gardos, Mane, Mayuka, Reed, Targett.
Referee: Andre Marriner
Good evening. If the wheels haven’t quite come off the Southampton train just yet, then they have been loosened a little after their mood-dampener against Manchester City on Sunday. All that optimism, all that hope before kick-off, it was all extinguished in 90 painfully ruthless minutes, and now people are waiting for Southampton to crumble. City were very good, because they are very good, but Southampton were so disappointing, playing within themselves, far too passive in a match that required the opposite approach. In the end, it was a meek way to lose - albeit against an extremely focused and talented City side who were on a mission – and that was the galling thing for Southampton. But it’s done, No point dwelling on it and they’re still third, better placed than most people thought they would be in the summer. “We march on!” Jan Kluitenberg, Southampton’s fitness coach, tweeted earlier.
And they’ve marched all the way to Arsenal, where they have an immediate chance to put things right. But here comes the bad news for those wheels: Arsenal are tooled up with spanners, wrenches, hammers and at this point it’s becoming clear that I don’t actually know much about tools so I’ll just say Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal are tooled up Alexis Sanchez and that’s a scary prospect at the moment. Southampton, who are without the injured Morgan Schneiderlin, haven’t lost two on the spin this season but that might change tonight and that would make it three matches without a win. That’s a crisis. That’s the sort of thing they’re going to have to put up with now they’re a big club.
Of course, Arsenal know all about a crisis, having already had around 17 this season. They like a crisis at the Emirates. In fact, I think they probably prefer it to winning stuff now, they’ve become so accustomed to them. That’s the funny thing about supporting a football team. It’s way more fun when everything’s going badly. We all like a moan. There’s nothing to talk about when you win. “Oh, that was good, wasn’t it?” “Yeah, it was good.” “Cool.” Whereas if your team has lost, you get to spend hours tearing into all of your players. It’s brilliant. So, in conclusion, Arsenal should throw tonight’s game and lose, even though they’re five points off fourth place.
Kick-off: 7.45pm.
