Read David Hytner’s match report:
So Arsenal climb above Spurs and into fifth – but they could be 17 points behind Manchester City by the end of today. Southampton still haven’t beaten a top-six side since the Koeman era, but are into the top half and were good value for a win – they led for 85 minutes before Olivier Giroud stepped in. Thanks for reading – time to join my colleague, Ben Fisher, for the Merseyside derby. Bye!
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Full time: Southampton 1-1 Arsenal
That’s your lot. A result that’s better for Southampton than Arsenal – but it won’t feel like that after Giroud’s late equaliser.
93 mins: Wilshere, who has offered extra dynamism in midfield, picks out Welbeck, whose cross is flicked goalwards by Ramsey. Forster has plenty of time to collect it.
92 mins: A late Southampton corner, which is punched clear by Cech under pressure from Gabbiadini.
91 mins: Hojbjerg, named man of the match by Francis Benali, sees his shot blocked. He’s been very good, but my vote goes to Jack Stephens.
90 mins: Ozil threatens to set up an Arsenal winner, but delays his final pass too long. Four minutes of injury time.
88 mins: That did not look like it was coming, but that’s the kind of chance you bring Olivier Giroud on for, and he’s rescued a point for Arsenal. A final change for Southampton, with Steven Davis on for Tadic.
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GOAL! Southampton 1-1 Arsenal (Giroud 87')
Sanchez drifts into space on the left and angles a cross towards Giroud, who gets between Yoshida and Van Dijk and flicks a header into the bottom corner!
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86 mins: Welbeck goes to ground in the middle of the Southampton half, but Bobby Madley is unimpressed. Arsenal running out of time...
84 mins: Sanchez’s effort is on target, bending towards the far corner – but easy enough for Forster to parry away. Goalscorer Charlie Austin is off, replaced by Manolo Gabbiadini.
83 mins: Arsenal free kick in a dangerous spot, after Jack Wilshere is brought down by Oriel Romeu. He’s booked, and Sanchez lines it up, 25 yards out...
82 mins: Southampton break at pace, but Boufal’s pass through to Austin is a fraction too late. Flagged offside, the striker throws his hands up in frustration – and accidentally catches Monreal square in the kisser.
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81 mins: Wenger has been giving the fourth official an earful over Southampton slowing the game down for some time, and Stephens is booked for time-wasting.
80 mins: Aside from their big win at Everton, Arsenal have only scored three league goals on the road this season. They look totally blunt here, with two crosses and a corner failing to cause Southampton the slightest problem.
79 mins: Ward-Prowse’s delivery almost finds Van Dijk, who strolled through unsupervised, but Cech collects.
78 mins: A first yellow card for Bellerin, who follows up that hold on Austin with a casual trip on Boufal as he threatened to break into the area.
76 mins: An Arsenal equaliser looked inevitable early in the first half but they’ve repeatedly run aground on the edge of the area. Austin wins a cheap free-kick from Bellerin to add to Arséne Wenger’s frustration.
75 mins: Van Dijk fires a long free kick towards Austin, but overhits it by about half a mile.
73 mins: Final change for Arsenal, as Olivier Giroud comes on for Lacazette. First change for Southampton, with Sofiane Boufal replacing Redmond.
72 mins: Welbeck attempts a cross that is, by any measure, dreadful. Very little quality in the final third from Arsenal today.
Team news for the Merseyside derby, and Jürgen Klopp has made some... interesting changes.
Liverpool: Mignolet; Gomez, Lovren, Klavan, Robertson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Henderson, Milner, Mane, Solanke, Salah.
Subs: Karius, Wijnaldum, Firmino, Coutinho, Can, Ings, Alexander-Arnold.
Everton: Pickford; Kenny, Holgate, Williams, Martina; Gueye; Calvert-Lewin, Davies, Rooney, Sigurdsson; Niasse.
Subs: Robles, Schneiderlin, Keane, Jagielka, Lennon, Vlasic, Lookman.
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70 mins: Twenty minutes to go with Arsenal pushing for an equaliser and Southampton’s front three looking to break on the two players the visitors are leaving back. Buckle up, everyone.
68 mins: Jack Wilshere is getting his chance, replacing Xhaka. From an Arsenal corner, Monreal fires a long-range effort that, on first viewing, looked a lot closer than it was.
67 mins: Those gaps have reappeared in the Arsenal defence and Austin romps past Koscielny on the left. The centre-back brings him down, and is lucky not to be penalised.
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65 mins: What a chance for Southampton, after more risible defending from Arsenal! Their new back two, Koscielny and Monreal, get in a mess and Tadic is able to cut the ball back to Bertrand. He’s through on goal, lifts it over Cech – and wide of the far post.
64 mins: Welbeck is on for Per Mertesacker so there’ll be a change of shape, unless he’s going to slot in at centre-back.
62 mins: The away fans have been calling intermittently for Jack Wilshere, but it’s Danny Welbeck who’s coming on for Arsenal.
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61 mins: Romeu hits the bar! Bertrand plays a one-two with Romeu, but the midfielder has other ideas – setting himself and cracking a shot off the crossbar from 25 yards! Nobody even considered closing him down.
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59 mins: Both teams guilty of wasting openings in the area here. First, Lacazette runs out of room and is dealt with by Van Dijk, before a Southampton break runs out of steam as Dusan Tadic lifts a cross straight to Cech.
57 mins: Ozil whips in a corner which falls to Xhaka on the edge of the box. He volleys it first time – you never quite know what he’s going to do – and the impressive Stephens heads it away.
56 mins: Sanchez almost connects with Ramsey with a quick pass, but Van Dijk gets across and intercepts. Southampton clear, all the way to Pellegrino on the touchline, who brings it down silkily.
55 mins: Bertrand tries, and fails, to pick out Redmond with a pass into the area from tight on the touchline.
53 mins: Southampton break upfield and Redmond tests Cech with a well-struck shot from 25 yards. Arsenal race up the other end, and Ramsey’s cross shot zips just beyond Lacazette’s outstretched boot, and wide.
52 mins: Kolasinac finally finds some space down the left and bombs toward the byline – but Stephens and Ward-Prowse get back, the former denying the wing-back with a sliding tackle.
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51 mins: Xhaka gives the ball away and it’s summarily hoofed upfield, all the way back to Cech. It’s a bit early for that.
50 mins: More pinged passes from Arsenal, with Southampton camped in their own half.
48 mins: Arsenal work the ball around the opposing half with quick, slick passes, but there’s no gap in the red and white wall in front of them. Bertrand cuts out a flick over the top from Sanchez, and Southampton get it away.
46 mins: Nathan Redmond gets his head up with Southampton pressing forward, but his diagonal pass towards Austin is intercepted.
Peep!
We’re off again. No changes for either side.
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@niallmcveigh Have to agree with Gary Naylor on Charlie Austin as the perfect English No 9 throw-back. But Austin is, somehow, No 10 for Southampton, who have no No 9 in the squad at all. What kind of south coast sick-show is that?
— Paul Neilan (@pjnellbone) December 10, 2017
I’d actually say Charlie Austin is Southampton’s most complete forward – although that may say more about his competition. Southampton’s previous No9 was Jay Rodriguez, now heading to the Championship with West Brom.
“Southampton are diving into tackles too much now,” says Ruth Purdue. “They are going to get picked off it they carry on. Arsenal are starting to find space between the lines too.”
It’ll be interesting to see if the hosts can keep their shape in the second half – but Arsenal need a bit more movement from the front three, with Sanchez not looking particularly up for it thus far.
Half-time viewing
The weather outside is frightful, so please enjoy some winter-themed treats from the Guardian archive:
Half time: Southampton 1-0 Arsenal
Arsenal have a free kick to close out the half, but Sanchez’s through ball drifts out for a goal kick. Charlie Austin’s goal is the difference after an up-tempo, end-to-end first half.
44 mins: Another Southampton break ends when Austin’s attempted pass hits Mertesacker on the hand. Austin, and the crowd, are livid with Bobby Madley for letting it go, but it wasn’t deliberate.
42 mins: Austin drifts out to the left and sees Tadic and Ward-Prowse steaming into the box. He tries to pick out the latter, which was perhaps the wrong option. Romeu then almost puts Austin through on goal, but Cech comes out to gather.
41 mins: Bellerin finds space down the right again with Bertrand awol, and his pull-back is fired over by Lacazette. He then goes down under Yoshida’s challenge, but there’s no appeal for a penalty. That has looked Arsenal’s most likely avenue so far.
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39 mins: Cech draws a ripple of applause from the home fans with a diving, Van Persie-esque header to clear Hojbjerg’s long ball.
37 mins: A couple of opportunities for Bertrand to find a killer pass from the left, but he dallies on both occasions. Southampton have steadied the ship, or perhaps Arsenal have eased off the gas.
Charlie Austin has the name, look and limitations of a late 70s Number Nine (say Peter Withe?) but perhaps the wheel is turning towards that "up and at 'em in the box" player - certainly outside the Champions League contenders @niallmcveigh
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) December 10, 2017
34 mins: Southampton counter that counter – there’s a pattern emerging – but Xhaka denies Redmond with an excellent interception. None of your early kick-off lethargy here.
33 mins: From searching for a second a few moments ago, Southampton are hanging on a little bit. Ozil leads another quick counter, and only a late intervention from Hojbjerg stops him getting a shot away.
31 mins: ...from which Ozil has a shot blocked, but the ball is worked out wide to Bellerin. His low cross is flashed towards the near post by Ramsey, but Forster gets down smartly to turn it away!
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30 mins: Arsenal struggle to clear their lines but when they do get away, Ozil does well to draw a foul from Hojbjerg. The free kick is cleared, but Arsenal stay forward, Van Dijk heading behind for a corner...
28 mins: Eesh, Arsenal look flaky at the back. First Bertrand’s corner is flicked clear by Koscielny, before Ward-Prowse’s cross from the other side is nodded back across goal by Redmond. It ricochets off a Southampton player and Cech saves.
27 mins: It’s curled towards the far corner and Cech, slightly out of position, has to palm it over. Cech punches the corner clear, but Southampton come again, and win another corner off Xhaka.
26 mins: From a Southampton throw, Xhaka barges Bertrand off the ball with his forearm, and gives away a free kick. Ward-Prowse will whip it in from the left...
25 mins: Bellerin skips between Tadic and Bertrand and makes a beeline for goal – but Van Dijk takes care of him with the kind of hefty challenge Jürgen Klopp is crying out for.
24 mins: Ramsey takes down a Sanchez pass, turns and aims a weak shot at Forster. Arsenal getting back into this after a frankly horrendous start.
22 mins: After a pedestrian spell of Arsenal possession, Fraser Forster causes a flutter of panic with a weak punch from Kolasinac’s cross – but Southampton clear.
19 mins: Southampton are employing an interesting tactic – when they lose the ball, Ward-Prowse drops from central midfield into the right of a back five. It’s worked well but as that breakaway showed, may be tested by quick breaks. Let’s see if Arsenal learn.
17 mins: Southampton win a corner but Arsenal break and Lacazette plays a one-two with Ozil and steps into the area – but Hojbjerg gets back to make a last-ditch tackle!
15 mins: From a quarter-chance, Lacazette could so easily have levelled! He collected Ramsey’s looping header and with his back to goal and two defenders on him, tricked them both with a quick turn – but his shot was straight at Forster.
14 mins: Hojbjerg breaks up an Arsenal move and sets Redmond away on the left, but the winger can’t keep the ball in. Up in Manchester, Pep Guardiola screams at his telly.
11 mins: Yoshida jogs back to nod a speculative long ball back to Forster. This is textbook lunchtime kick-off stuff from Arsenal so far.
9 mins: Arsenal enjoy a first spell of possession, with Southampton dropping back into a 5-4-1 off the ball. The move ends with Mesut Ozil lofting an aimless cross into Fraser Forster’s gloves.
8 mins: Bertrand powers forward down the left and whips a low cross in that Austin turns onto the near post – but he’s offside. Still, one of Arsenal’s three defenders needs to get to grips with Southampton’s lone striker.
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6 mins: Austin is in behind again – but is flagged just off. Mertesacker, a yard behind his team-mates, will be relieved.
4 mins: After Kolasinac has a foray forward, Southampton break at speed, and Austin is set free behind Nacho Monreal. With Tadic in support, he aims a low shot across Cech – but the keeper saves, and does well to hold onto it.
From a long throw, Per Mertesacker went to clear but gave the ball straight to Tadic. In an effort to make amends, he then toppled over, allowing the Serbian space to pick out a lovely lofted pass into Austin’s path. He took it down and powered it beyond Cech.
GOAL! Southampton 1-0 Arsenal (Austin 2')
What a start for the hosts – and another early slip-up from Arsenal! Charlie Austin gets it, his fifth of the season.
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1 min: Sanchez gets forward and tries to find a team-mate, but his pass inside is cut out.
Peep!
Bobby Madley gets us started. The ref made his Premier League debut here in 2013, and what a debut – he sent off three players.
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A word for Owen Hargreaves, who couldn’t make his co-comms gig at St. Mary’s due to the snow. More like snowin’ Hargreaves, amirite? Anyway, Francis Benali is drafted in. There’s a blast from the past!
Mauricio Pellegrino, one of the top flight’s more philosophical managers, speaks: “We changed some players because we’re thinking about this game, Wednesday and Saturday. Today is the most important game, but I am thinking about the different qualities of my players.”
Pellegrino also hints that Jack Stephens could start at right-back in a back four, presumably with Ryan Bertrand on the other side and three in midfield.
A bit of breaking news on the continent – Dortmund have sacked Peter Bosz after a run of 12 games without a win. He’s replaced by Peter Stöger, who has rather landed on his feet after being sacked by the Bundesliga’s bottom club, Cologne.
Arsène speaks! “This is a traditionally difficult place to come ... they are a technically good side. I feel we have a positive dynamic but it has to be transformed into results. When you lose a game, you have to bounce back straight away.”
Mauricio Pellegrino, meanwhile, prefers to do his talking on Twitter:
💬#SaintsFC boss Mauricio Pellegrino says his side will have to be at their best to beat #Arsenal today: pic.twitter.com/kLYVg3M3L9
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) December 10, 2017
“Picture Editor Out!” shouts Charles Antaki, while waving an A4 printout. “Where is the obligatory wintry photo of St Mary’s under snow / ground staff clearing snowdrifts off the pitch / snow falling against the floodlights? I know Southampton is on the balmy south coast, it’s a lunchtime game and so on, but still. And what about an orange ball?”
It’s disappointingly drizzly down at St. Mary’s – if you wanted to see a proper game this weekend, Aberdare v Risca was the place to be:
Not sure what's happening but @AberdareTown are winning 4-2 pic.twitter.com/k7NtRejdta
— Risca United FC (@RiscaUtd) December 8, 2017
Four changes for Southampton from the draw at Bournemouth, and a change of shape with Mauricio Pellegrino switching to a back three. Jack Stephens, Maya Yoshida, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Nathan Redmond are in; Wesley Hoedt, Steven Davis, Sofiane Boufal and Jérémy Pied drop to the bench.
Just the one change for Arsenal from their last league game, with Per Mertesacker replacing Shkodran Mustafi in the heart of their three-man defence. Mesut Özil, Alexis Sánchez and Alexandre Lacazette are all present and correct in a dangerous front three.
Team news
Southampton (3-4-2-1): Forster; Stephens, van Dijk, Yoshida; Ward-Prowse, Hojbjerg, Romeu, Bertrand; Tadic, Redmond, Austin.
Subs: Hoedt, Davis, McCarthy, Lemina, Boufal, Gabbiadini, Pied.
Arsenal (3-4-2-1): Cech; Koscielny, Mertesacker, Monreal; Bellerín, Ramsey, Xhaka, Kolasinac; Özil, Sánchez; Lacazette.
Subs: Wilshere, Giroud, Ospina, Iwobi, Welbeck, Maitland-Niles, Coquelin.
Referee: Bobby Madley
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Preamble
Arsenal aren’t the only ones with a big-game problem. Putting the elite’s noses out of joint is something of a tradition at Southampton – but not lately. Last season under Claude Puel, they won none of their 12 games against the Premier League’s top six sides – compared to six in the same fixtures under Ronald Koeman.
When you’re as nailed on for mid-table as Southampton appear to be, these kind of games help fans decide if their team are thriving or just surviving. Mauricio Pellegrino has lost all three so far this season, although the last-gasp defeat to Manchester City at least hinted at their brio against the bigger teams returning.
While Southampton search for a statement win, Arsenal have picked up a habit of statement defeats. The home loss to Manchester United has followed televised slip-ups at Watford, Stoke and Liverpool, and sucked the air out of their sails after the derby win that many hoped would be a game changer.
Both teams will have this down as a winnable game, and recent history is no help – the last three meetings on this ground have ended 4-0, 0-2 and 0-5. It really could go either way. Kick-off is at 12pm GMT.
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