Here’s our report from the Emirates.
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There’s another game going on in London, of course, a proper tear-up of a derby. And Rob Smyth will be your guide.
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Email from the US of A makes a pertinent point, and there’s a prediction from Drew in Maine..
“John, if Arsenal’s defense can’t deal with Shane Long and Charlie Austin, how can they expect to contain Griezmann in a potential Europa League matchup? And if Jack Stephens can get under their skin, imagine what Diego Costa will do.”
So, what did we learn? Arsenal still know where the goal is, and really ought to when they have Aubemeyang and Welbeck in their team and Lacazette coming off the bench. Worth mentioning the contribution of Alex Iwobi, who when given space, showed that he can supply a creative edge.
And as for Southampton, there was plenty of fighting spirit there, just as would be expected in a Mark Hughes team but a tendency to boil over is problematic. It always helps to have eleven men on the field. Jack Stephens lost his mind when lashing out at Jack Wilshere the wind-up merchant. Having now rediscovered how to score goals, the defence needs work. A Virgil van Dijk-shaped hole is what is likely to cost Southampton their Premier League status.
The question of why they sold him in January having held on to him last summer now seems as pertinent as ever.
Full time: Arsenal 3-2 Southampton
And that’s it. Goals, red cards and some very rude words indeed. It had it all.
90 min + 6: After all that excitement, it’s gone ragged. Hoedt now booked for Southampton.
90 min+4: Saints fail to make much of their free-kick. Iwobi down the other end tries to keep the ball in the corner. The entire 59,000 crowd out of their seats.
Red card: Mohamed Elneny
This one was more of a mystery but it seems Elneny raised a hand to Cedric.
Red Card: Jack Stephens
Stephens reacted to a shirt pull from Jack Wilshere with a frustrated swipe. Wilshere was booked and Stephens will need a new shirt. It was ripped to pieces.
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90 min: Into injury time, and there will be four added minutes.
89 min: Some very rude words coming from the vicinity of the Southampton dug-out. Some time-wasting from Arsenal would appear to be the issue.
88 min: But here come Arsenal on the attack, or more properly trying to kill the game with some possession stuff. Charlie Austin concedes a needless free-kick as Arsenal try to take the steam out of this one.
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87 min: A head tennis session in the Arsenal area. They are clinging on a little here.
86 min: Jack Wilshere showing off his “new Dennis Wise” persona by crunching into Cedric. Good, strong chest-beating stuff.
84 min: Josh Sims get involved and then Cech is forced to make a save from Tadic. A lovely pirouette forced the chance. Saints still fighting for their lives.
82 min: That is a disaster for Southampton. They have been hugely vulnerable whenever Arsenal’s attackers have been given time to link up with each other. Iwobi was given room for the second time in a matter of moments. Tiredness perhaps kicking in. Southampton have doubled their average away scoring record here, but conceding three leaves them in the drop zone as it stands.
Goal! Arsenal 3-2 Southampton (Welbeck 81)
Welbeck makes amends. Another fine Iwobi cross and it’s knocked in at the back post.
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78 min: Substitution: Shane Long finally pegs out. He’s down and can’t carry on. He’s been great today in the best Shane Long fashion: industrious. Josh Sims comes on to replace the fighting Irishman.
77 min: Amazing miss from Arsenal. Great cross from Iwobi to the back post, then Wilshere sets up Welbeck. That’s a miss for your Danny Baker’s Own Goals and Gaffes VHS collection.
74 min: Arsenal rocking on the ropes here. Shane Long, still limping, tries to get a cross in but the ball is hacked behind. It’s all Southampton. Petr Cech has to punch the ball clear before claiming the next ball pumped in.
73 min: Saints deserved that. Mark Hughes’ plotting and planning came off to a tee.
Goal! Arsenal 2-2 Southampton (Austin 73)
Equaliser from the sub! Great work from Cedric and Austin keeps up his unblemished scoring record against Arsenal.
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71 min: Substitution time: Aubameyang is replace by his good pal Lacazette. Now on comes Charlie Austin for Yoshida to bolster the Southampton attack. Charlie boy has scored every time he has faced
70 min: Here’s word on the attendance. Poor Ray.
Arsenal have just announced the official attendance here at the Emirates as 59,374 pic.twitter.com/Gc1gwNS7d8
— Layth (@laythy29) April 8, 2018
68 min: Meanwhile, Cech made another save, this time after a shot from Hoedt. Saints continue to step it up, amd Arsenal’s forward line starved of service.
66 min: Mark Hughes is raging on the touchline, though not as much as Michael Staley, who blasts back at McKeefry. They are reduced to calling each other by their surnames.
“Silly idea. I probably “deserve” £100,000 per year, but I don’t get it. It’s a question of how many points are won, not whether they are “deserved”. If you believe otherwise, “support” Burnley, though I doubt your “support” amounts to very much.”
64 min: Reiss Nelson has departed the scene, to be replaced by Jack Wilshere. Looks like Arsene Wenger wants more control of midfield. A quiet debut from Nelson. Tough to play against a team with as physical an approach as Southampton and among a team that was mish-mash of a selection.
63 min: Saints goal disallowed. Shane Long had the ball in the net after directing Cedric’s shot in. Correct offside decision, and even Mark Hughes disagrees. Long complains, but he was offside.
62 min: Shane Long goes close again. Climbs highest in a crowd scene and plants his header down. Good low save from Cech.
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61 min: Good question from Geoff Wignall: “I wonder whether Long and Welbeck have ever both scored on the same day before, let alone in the same match. It can’t have happened often.”
60 min: Saints stepping this up, but the back door is slightly ajar at the back. Mark Hughes aims a volley at the linesman for a throw-in he feels was his team’s.
58 min: Højbjerg is another Southampton player in the wars. For the second time he is grimacing in pain. Playing for Mark Hughes is always a bruising business, though not as bruising as having to play against him.
57 min: Shots returned to Staley from McKeefry: “Let’s try the basis of pound spent per point as a measure of deserving. Let’s try percentage ground fill!”
55 min: Mustafi shaky again in making a skewed clearance that could have gone anywhere but went behind for a corner. Typically great delivery from Ward-Prowse and Wes Hoedt heads the ball goalwards, where it is hacked clear from the line.
53 min: Now it’s Petr Cech called into action. Højbjerg’s shot rattled in, and Cech doesn’t make a clean save but the ball is not followed up by any Saints. Shane Long knew he was offside
51 min: Another fine save from McCarthy, this time from Iwobi. Not a good sign for Southampton that Arsenal are getting the space for so many shots.
50 min: Meanwhile, Hector Bellerin is the first player in the book, yellow-carded after taking evasive action after an Elneny error.
49 min: Shots fired. Michael Staley emails in.
“Martin McKeefry emails in with a guilty conscience. “Help! Please tell me I’m not the only Arsenal fan who secretly hopes Burnley come sixth. They deserve it more don’t they?” No they don’t. Arsenal have more points. On what basis do Burnley “deserve it more”? You need to go and support Burnley if that’s your attitude.”
48 min: Close for Arsenal. Aubemeyang and Xhaka force two saves from McCarthy. Xhaka’s effort far superior to his first-half pot-shots. A fine save for it, too.
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47 min: Shane Long is back out, and running gingerly at best. Surely he only gets another 20 minutes or so?
46 min: We are back underway at the Emirates, where very few people appear to be in the top tier of the stands.
It won’t be long until we find out how many tickets were sold by Arsenal today. Rather than the actual attendance, that is.
Tweet from Mark Sanderson: “Dusan Tadic has the abs like an extra from that film 300. If he only he had the guts to match. Such a frustrating player.”
Teenage Fanclub superfan Tom Goodfellow emails in. “I Need Direction in how to respond to that Sparky’s Dream comment. Can Arsenal Start Again or is The Concept for Saints to avoid Fallin’ a division with all the Mellow Doubt that would involve? Ain’t That Enough?”
Hang On, what’s your Star Sign, Tom?
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Martin McKeefry emails in with a guilty conscience. “Help! Please tell me I’m not the only Arsenal fan who secretly hopes Burnley come sixth. They deserve it more don’t they?”
Half-time: Arsenal 2-1 Southampton
A tale of three strikers. Shane Long with the work ethic and unlikely opportunism, and then Aubameyang with the class. Danny Welbeck, who set up that equaliser with his own piece of class, was a little lucky to score Arsenal’s second. Spirited from Saints, but they were hanging on to a 2-1 deficit in the final moments of the half.
45 min: McCarthy fails to clear Xhaka’s corner. Chambers fires in a shot and Saints hurry it behind. Bellerin and Højbjerg collide. Painful for the Dane but he gets back up.
43 min: Shane Long, meanwhile, is walking with a limp. He’s already put in a hell of a shift, even grabbed a goal, but half-time could be the end for him.
42 min: Ward-Prowse seizes on the ball in a dangerous area but his shot squirts wide. Arsenal head down the other end and looked like they might get another but well done Jack Stephens for getting his lines cleared.
40 min: Meanwhile, Granit Xhaka has smashed another ball into the stands. Sometimes they go in. Oh, but not very often.
38 min: Not much Alex McCarthy could do about that. Mark Hughes aghast on the bench. His plan was working to a tee, then came Arsenal being in possession of quality attackers and a stroke of bad luck. Arsenal deserve credit for their response, too. Having Sean Dyche breathing down your neck can do that to you.
Goal! Arsenal 2-1 Southampton (Welbeck 38)
Danny Welbeck cuts in from the left, pings in a shot that comes off Yoshida’s shins.
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36 min: Saints on the attack now but Bellerin shows off his defensive chops by closing off the space and getting his foot in.
34 min: Romeu concedes a free-kick in a highly dangerous position. Granit Xhaka clatters it over the bar in the style that rugby’s Owen Farrell might appreciate but not the sighing fans in the Clock End.
33 min: End to end stuff: Shane Long goes close with an angled snap shot, though there is a mysterious offside flag being waved.
31 min: Arsenal have woken up, and fancy another goal. Difficult for Southampton to alter their momentum from the defensive setting they had triggered. Cedric forced to concede a corner that Welbeck couldn’t get to. The ball back in found Chambers, and Alex McCarthy makes a save.
30 min: That Saints resistance could not cope with the excellence of that interchange. Arsenal, for all their woes, have players that can open up the proverbial tin of beans with their skills.
Goal: Arsenal 1-1 Southampton (Aubameyang (29)
Lovely goal from Arsenal. Flick from Danny Welbeck and Aubameyang dinks in.
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26 min: A replay of the Southampton goal is even more ugly viewing for Mustafi. He left Petr Cech utterly exposed. Even Shane Long doesn’t miss those...
25 min: Shane Long is now the “out ball” for Southampton, and also the first line of defence. There is the wisdom of his selection ahead of Charlie Austin, who is, shall we say, less dedicated to the pressing game.
23 min: The Hughes plan appears to be to keep his team in blocks that moved in unison and squeeze the space for Arsenal. It’s working. Arsenal are now racking up the passing stats, but have had very few touches in the opposing penalty area.
22 min: Good stat there. Only Sir Alex Ferguson has beaten a Wenger team more often than Mark Hughes’ seven. Eight is in the offing.
20 min: Arsenal, to be fair, putting some pressure down now. Are Southampton going to try and sit on this? Risky strategy. Bellerin’s ball in has to be hurriedly cleared by Bertrand.
19 min: Remember when Arsenal’s signing of Mustafi was hailed as a masterstroke?
18 min: Southampton have looked far more up for this than Arsenal, who have been in Emirates Cup mode for much of the game, as they have for much of the season, in actual fact. The crowd now getting on their backs.
17 min: Well, well, well. Shane Long, for his second goal in 48 matches, was given the freedom of Islington by Mustafi to poke home. Awful from Arsenal but praise for Long in following the ball as any striker, even a non-scoring striker, must do.
Goal! Arsenal 0-1 Southampton (Long 17)
Cedric’s ball in and Long tucks it away.
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14 min: “Great ball,” says an audible Mark Hughes on the sideline. He was praising a Ryan Bertrand pass. Meanwhile, Shane Long has a knock.
11 min: Xhaka given a bit of space to pass the ball around. He’s good at that, it’s just the running and tackling he struggles with. Eventually, though, Southampton get it clear and Shane Long is the man to do it. He might be better served playing further up front. Though given his goal record, perhaps not.
10 min: Shane Long got away after a long ball, there looked to be a tug on his shirt from Calum Chambers and the pass to Tadic is poor. Mark Hughes angry with both refs and players.
8 min: The corner bounced out to Højbjerg, but he couldn’t keep his shot directed at goal. The signs are that Saints are up for it. Arsenal? Less so.
6 min: Chances for Southampton. Tadic got away down the right, but his pass was behind Ward-Prowse. And Saints keep up the pressure as Tadic forces a corner.
4 min: The word from our spy in the Emirates is there is “no one here”. The latest Arsenal Stadium mystery is why people stay away from matches they have already paid to attend. The beer and bespoke bagels must be damned expensive in the concourses.
3 min: Tadic could and possibly should have been sent off for that, and was probably only saved by it happening so early in the game. Let’s perhaps put it down to Tadic not being that sort of player, though Mark Hughes has form for asking his players to put a foot in on opponents.
2 min: Welcome to Premier League football, Reiss Nelson. Dusan Tadic just completely clattered him. The young man was in pain, but thankfully, he is up.
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1 min: We are away at the Emirates and from what is another sparse crowd, there are chants of Arsenal, Arsenal.
At the Emirates there is a minute’s applause for another Ray, Ray Wilkins, a real nice guy of the game who is given a cheer by the home fans despite a lifelong association with Chelsea. Mark Hughes, a former team-mate, looks especially moved.
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Paul Neilan tweets. “Surely, it’s a bit unfair to describe, as people have, Hughes as a dude who’s could ‘relegate’ two teams in one season? He got sacked, like.”
Fair point, Paul, though if a manager leaves a club in the relegation zone, can he be at least be handed some blame?
Charles Antaki emails in.
“I hope that the Emirates management haven’t failed to monetise the announcement of the attendance figures - is the A4 sheet sponsored by someone appropriate, perhaps the Bloomsbury Press, a large publisher of cultured fiction?”
Meow. To be fair to Arsenal and especially Ray, nobody is telling lies. That A4 paper does actually reflect the amount of tickets sold, just not the people in the stadium.
Arsene Wenger speaks about his team selection, which does look to place focus on the Europa League.
“We have played many many games. We have played every three days. On the other hand, the league is less at stake and I can see young players like Reiss Nelson and that’s important for the club’s future. He can run with the ball and he can dribble. It’s up to him to show he can live up the expected performance. It’s a good opportunity for him.”
That last time Saints won at Arsenal, it was at the old Highbury, and the winner was scored by Danny Wallace.
Mark Sanderson tweets in.
“Pray for us, John. No league win at Arsenal since 1987 with Saints team that featured Andy Townsend and Derek Statham.”
The good news, Mark, is that Mark Hughes has beaten Arsenal with four different clubs. Which is both a measure of his status as an irritant of Arsene Wenger and a long CV. Hughsie’s Stoke beat Arsenal 1-0 in August, courtesy of a goal from Jesé. My memory of that game is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain playing very well at right wing-back. Whatever happened to him?
Here’s Jacob Steinberg on Sparky’s dream of keeping Southampton up, and the much-envied club that lost its “way”.
A key expectation of this fixture is another empty Emirates. London’s biggest club stadium - not counting Spurs’ Wembley home - has been a sea of red seats in recent weeks, particularly last week, Easter Sunday, against Stoke. The suggestion is that season ticket holders are not bothering to show up.
A bit of insider-ish info here. Just past half-time at Arsenal games, a rather lovely chap called Ray, who manages the press room, will walk along past the media benches and reveal the attendance. The piece of A4 paper he sidles along with has always said “tickets sold” rather than the actual amount of punters who have clicked through the turnstiles. Don’t expect that to start changing soon. Poor Ray has been doing a walk of shame in recent weeks.
While Arsenal have made five changes, Leslie Mark Hughes has made four to Southampton, and it looks like he will be playing wing-backs against an opponent whom they have never beaten away from home in the Premier League era. Shane Long, he of the goal desert, having scored once in the last calendar year, starts up front ahead of Charlie Austin, who is Saints’ leading scorer despite not having scored since December. And there’s the rub for Saints: only West Brom have scored fewer Premier League goals. They average less than a goal-a-game on the road
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The headline Arsenal news there is the selection of Reiss Nelson, making his full Premier League generation. There’s something for Gunners fans to be excited about. Nelson is 18 and has been hailed as the next big thing for some time, in the fashion of Jack Wilshere at the start of this decade, though maybe not with the same level of advance notices of the veteran 26-year-old who is on the bench today. Calum Chambers at centre-half is an eyebrow raiser, though he was well regarded in that position when on loan at Middlesbrough last season.
Here are the teams.
Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Chambers, Mustafi, Kolasinac, Elneny,
Xhaka, Iwobi, Nelson, Welbeck, Aubameyang.
Subs: Lacazette, Wilshere, Ozil, Holding, Monreal, Macey, Nketiah.
Southampton: McCarthy, Cedric, Stephens, Hoedt, Yoshida, Bertrand, Ward-Prowse, Hojbjerg, Romeu, Tadic, Long.
Subs: Austin, Boufal, Gabbiadini, Redmond, Pied, Sims, Forster.
Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands)
Hello, good afternoon and welcome.
Did Mark Hughes’ new manager bounce only extend to beating Wigan in the FA Cup? The signs from last week were that it might be the case. Just as West Ham fans were getting ready for more rebellion, Saints rolled at the London Stadium, and kick off in the relegation zone with a fairly hellish set of fixtures to follow.
Arsenal is the first of seven games to save the formerly best run club in the Premier League. This season, Southampton got it wrong, from the appointment of Mauricio Pellegrino to letting the asset stripping continue.
Their best hope for this afternoon might have been Arsenal being distracted by the Europa League but a 4-1 romp past CSKA Moscow’s geriatric defence leaves not too much necessity for Arsene Wenger to rest his stars. More pertinently perhaps, they have Burnley on their tails in the race for sixth place, just two points behind. The fourth place trophy that Arsenal used to celebrate is a distant dream.
John will be here shortly.
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