By Walter Broeckx
A lot of changes indicating that Arsenal finds the PL more important than the FA cup at this moment in time. I’m not going over all the changes but only Mustafi held his place in the starting line up compared to the Burnley match.
The most important fact maybe was the first start for Welbeck since May last year. Also the first time we see Per Mertesacker involved since his injury in the first friendly in Lens.
Starting team for Arsenal: Ospina, Bellerin, Mustafi, Holding, Gibbs, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Maitland-Niles, Walcott, Reine-Adelaide, Lucas, Welbeck
On the beach : Martinez, Jenkinson, Gabriel, Mertesacker, Monreal, Iwobi, Alexis.
Bellerin to Walcott on the flank whose low cross finds Adelaide but his shot was blocked for a corner. Adelaide after a second corner to Lucas but his cross can’t find Walcott at the far post. A bit later The Ox with a shot from distance but also very wide. Maitland Niles with a good ball to Bellerin but the latter couldn’t find Lucas and the keeper first on the ball. Arsenal keep going forward and a ball is played to Lucas who clever plays it in the path of Welbeck who is one on one with the keeper and lobs it in from the crossbar. GOAL!!!! 0-1 to the Arsenal after 15 minutes.
Arsenal continue to play the attacking football from the opening 15 minutes but a defender just in front of Walcott to save for a corner when he would have been clear on goal. The Ox with a long ball to Welbeck a wonderful control, wins enough space to push it next to the keeper and slots home. GOAL!!!! 0-2 to the Arsenal after 22 minutes.
Ooospina then attracted out of the penalty area but Holding can head the cross and the follow up is shot well over the goal. The first goal bound effort from Southampton. Long then with a shot but Ospina can save for a corner. The save was needed. The resulting corner leads to a goal kick. The Ox meanwhile is the main man in midfield regulating play and the tempo and switching wings. A free kick from The Ox finds Mustafi but he heads wide. That should have been his second Arsenal goal. Maitland-Niles and Adelaide also very much and positively involved so far. Arsenal still 0-2 in front after 30 minutes.
Friend then gives a soft foul against Gibbs and Southampton can take a free kick from a dangerous position but it goes in the side net. The Ox again with a good ball but Walcott can’t control the ball enough on the turn and loses his balance. But Arsenal just the better team. Southampton lose the ball in their own half. Welbeck to Lucas who again produces a fine pass back to Welbeck who crosses low in front of the Southampton goal and Walcott and a defender push the ball against the net. GOAL!!!!! 0-3 to The Arsenal after 36 minutes.
Southampton get a corner but the shot goes wide. Mustafi with a clever low header back when Maitland Niles loses the ball so the danger is cleared. Ospina with a fine catch on a cross but he held his head and stayed on the floor. A slight collision with Long in the air maybe but not clear visible in the images. Arsenal now leaning back a bit and a big scare when a foul on Gibbs is not called but Southampton waste the chance. Arsenal go in at half time with a well deserved lead of 0-3. The forward line Welbeck-Lucas-Walcott guided by The Ox really on fire in this first half.
Arsenal very much in control in the opening minutes and Welbeck sees a shot cleared for a corner. The effort from Maitland Niles goes well over. At the other end he clears a ball that bounced around in the Arsenal penalty area. At the other end The Ox just can’t find Walcott. Welbeck with a nice run to Lucas who gives it to Bellerin but the keeper can save his shot. Walcott again send away by The Ox but he stumbles a bit when going round the last man and the chance is gone. Arsenal keeps in control of the match most of the time. And Maitland Niles keeps on popping up when Southampton might become dangerous. Another good block. Adelaide stays on the ground when falling badly on his back for a while but seems to recover. Lucas keeps on pressing high up the pitch against the Southampton defenders, really amazing work rate. Arsenal still 0-3 in front after 60 minutes.
Lucas feeds Welbeck but he takes one touch too many to shoot. After 63 minutes Alexis comes on in the place of Welbeck who had a great first start scoring two goals and assisting the 3rd. Welbeck getting a well done from captain Per. Southampton with a shot from distance but not even close to the target. Mustafi then relying on Ospina on a back pass but Ospina cool as a cucumber controls the ball. Arsenal attack at the other end. The ox (who else) with a fine ball to Alexis who is on the goal line, a cut back to Theo and he coolly finished the attack. GOAL!!!!! 0-4 to The Arsenal after 68 minutes.
Alexis with an attempted backheel to Gibbs but he misses his touch and Southampton can clear. At the other end another Southampton shot finds row Z. Adelaide goes off after 71 minutes and Iwobi comes on. A good and fine display from the youngster! Maitland Niles again with some good solid defensive work. Arsenal clear a corner with some luck but the counter from Alexis is cut out after a foul. Ospina dribbles a Southampton striker in the penalty area. He sure looks confident with the ball at his feet. Arsenal still 0-4 in front after 75 minutes.
Arsenal losing their concentration a bit in the last minutes. But Southampton can’ take advantage of it. Time to wake up a bit but Alexis can’t control another fine pass from The Ox. He looks very angry. Picture will be used tomorrow to say he is off.
By the way a nice fact for the started a match without English players. Arsenal today started with Holding, Gibbs, The Ox, Maitland-NIles, Welbeck and Walcott. Maitland NIles keeps on popping up at the right place in the defence. Amazing performance. Lucas looked dead after chasing the ball for 80 minutes.
Lucas with a great deep ball to Alexis who waited till he got some support in the person of Theo and he once again finished it off in style. GOAL!!! 0-5 to The Arsenal after 84 minutes. A hattrick for Theo! And another assist for Alexis. Oh and 5 valid goals. Not one where the ref had anything to do with it. With 3 minutes to go Wenger left his seat in the stands. Lucas was send away but the keeper could stop the ball. What a pity he deserved a goal for his hard work, effort and contribution. And it was another great ball from The Ox to release him.
A great performance from the whole team. A clean sheet and some great football for most of the time. The youngsters looked great and out attack was amazing. Arsenal march on in the FA cup.
The midfield performance from The Ox was amazing. As was the one from Maitland-Niles. Difficult to pick a man of the match from this one. A great team performance.
I thought we were supposed to be in CRISIS due to our lack of midfielders. Didn’t look like a problem to me today. Best display by a mile from the Jeff and Maitland-Niles also put in a fine shift in his preferred position. I think we also now know the best position for the Ox. Well done all three of you
Indeed a great team performance. There were some amazing performances & Reine-Adelaide was outstanding. Cool calm & collected with classic distribution.
I don’t really think that AW isn’t taking the FA Cup seriously.
I just think he felt sure the Saints would have to field a weaker team following their TinPot Cup exertions, and we need to give some of our big strong squad some game time. Except AMN, Jeff and Holding (who’ve all shown well for us when called into action previously) all the players are internationals.
I gather Theo is on 99 goals now.
Cech, Monreal, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gabriel, Coquelin, Ramsey, Elneny, Xhaka, Ozil and Giroud will struggle to get into this team.
Feb Holding is an England U21 international, Ainsley Maitland-Niles an England U18 international and Jeff Reine-Adelaide a France U18 international.. None of the three are inexperienced in real terms.
Superb, and well done Steve Boulds team……a rookie manager to look out for in the future.
Quite amazing……Liverpool fans unbelievably calling for Klopps head on Five Live. football…..eh….
Andrew, yes, all lower level internationals, but not full internationals.
But more importantly, they’ve all played very well for us previously.
The Mail gave Wenger an eight: must’ve been for his communication skills.?
Well done to Arsenal Backup/Youth Squad.
Spare a thought for one of the media’s favourite team (Liverpool) and their manager who can do no wrong.
Three days ago after being beaten both legs by Southampton in the Carling Cup semi-final, Jürgen Flopp blamed the weather. He said LiverPoo lost because it was too windy at Anfield.
(We are all surprised that the supposed wind didn’t seem to affect Southampton).
Flopp has led the Poo out of two cup competitions in the space of 4 days.
In another 3 days LiverPoo face Chelsea.
If LiverPoo doesn’t win, then Flopp will have led the Poo out of the title race.
Flopp as a manager has never won a cup.
Flopp has led Dortmund to three cup finals and lost all three.
Flopp has led the Poo to two cup finals. He lost both finals.
What great manager always loses in cup finals?
This season Flopp has led the Poo out of the Carling Cup. And now the Poo are out of the FA Cup.
But being Flopp and Liverpool, it is not a crisis. The pundits and Poo fans will always remind us that Liverpool has a great history. The Poo was great during the 70s and 80s. Yes, three decades ago!!!
And the media and pundits will remind us that Flopp is a likeable character. Really?
It is always easy to be likeable if the pundits or journalists asking you the questions so much in awe of you that they lap up every word you say. In fact, the pundits are so high up Flopp’s backside they are almost disappearing.
Makes me wonder why the media hates Arsenal and our manager so, so much.
I really loved today’s lineup. The midfield was brilliant.
Maybe Ospina and Gibbs were the only weak links.
Great to have Welbeck and Theo fit again.
Zuruvi
Great post except for the last bit.
Didn’t see what either of those did to be singled out, but each to his own.
But you’re right, despite all the above, if Liverpool do manage to beat Chelsea all will be forgiven.
Oooospina was great, as he always is. Provided a very safe pair of hands. His confidence with th ball was also something
An excellent team performance and a good win against the Saints despite some suspect decisions by the PGMO. The difference in class between the teams today was too much for the bandit in black to bridge.
It looked to me that the team was determined to win having been thoroughly cheesed off at the way the refs placed them on the receiving end of gbh match after match and also at the boneheaded way the FA have treated AW.
Ospina is a great keeper. He may lack Cech’s experience and stature, but he has performed well on every appearance this season.
His reflexes may be better than Cech’s and his distribution is probably better. Against Soton his coolness and control with his feet was impressive.
We are fortunate to have such quality back-up. Also Martinez is a good keeper.
On the topic of Liverpool, I find Klopp to be OK, – not a pain like Brendan Rogers. I hope they beat Chelsea.
Amazing performance from the team. The young players did brilliantly. And for once I can’t think of anything the press can concentrate on to divert from our performance. Oh I forgot – they already said it – apparently Southampton were woeful. No – we were great!
I dislike Liverpool, partly just… because they feel so entitled, and partly because I grew to maturity in the 1970s…so it’s nice to see them lose. However, I have found that Klopp is gracious in defeat more often than not. Of course, he will find reasons to protect his players in the media but he does congratulate teams that beat his team with a bit more grace than Arsene. By his own admission, Arsene is a poor loser and I can see that grating on others.
As for today…Great performance from the team. Arsene has said, in the past, that he could see the Ox playing down the middle and today was quite a teaser. Can he replicate that against a team that pressures the players on the ball? Only time will tell. I bet with Santi creating time and space behind him he would do just fine.
@Nitram
@Hilbert
Ooooospina, had at least 2 instances where he had a rush of blood to the head.
Gibbs also tended to lose possession unnecessarily.
That’s why i felt these two players were not as good as the other players.
Most of the players in my view scored a performance level of 8 or 9.
I judged Gibbs and Ospina to have a score of 6.
They didn’t have a bad game but I felt they didn’t have a very good game like the other players.
What a great team win, for sure. The young midfield looks superb, and you can really tell those boys have spent a long time playing together in the past. The Ox was something of a rooster today, with his upright, confident posture and you could see that he knows that he possesses the skills to succeed. You could even hear him demonstratively crying out after some plays fizzled out. Judging by his comments on Alexis, he is starting to realize the mean streak and desire needed to produce like he does every day. If his form and confidence are marrying with his potential this year, then look out, he is, dare I say, starting to look like the player he was always destined to be!
And as for the comments on the lickherpuddle team up north, I am all for bashing those fans and that team, but Klopp is an innovative and hard charging coach. I love that guy. The media love him because he is charismatic for days, yes, but the man can whip his teams into a frenzy. Don’t forget, he has beaten Bayern (twice!!) in the Bundesliga with BVB, and they have played some of the most exciting football from London Colney to La Masia for several years now
And while on the subject of BVB Dortmund, does anyone else thingpk that Thomas Tuchel would be as perfect a succession to Wenger as can be? I love Klopp, but I freakin LOVE Tuchel
Don’t forget pool kept players back for Chel$ so i expect a better(for us) game there.
All we can do is win our game against chel$ convincingly and they will crumble.
WOO HOO , HOO ! A great team performance , no complaints except that we could have a few more ! The youngsters were brilliant and the pace was very thrilling. I agree that the OX was truly in control and pushing us on! I think that AW left early as to sympathise with those Southampton fans or to get the chanpaigne ready ! As a wine drinker myself , not sure how one prepares that drink! Up the Gunners!
What a wonderful display by our tax benefitting (courtesy of the FA) manager. He moves to the Gods & his disciple Bould has the fans chanting ‘Steve Boulds Red Army’. Wengers view is so much better from up there & the water bottles are no longer a distraction. The earphones in his ear blasting a Piaff rendition of ‘no regrets’.
Captain Gibbs played a well controlled role from left back without risking position. Alexis was key to the final 2 goals, the first of those created by the Ox with a beautiful powerful run followed by a well weighted pass to Alexis. Amazing how our Ox struts like a peacock! 😉 😉
Great team performance, great win. Let’s keep it up. It was funny seeing AW with the earpiece, luckily it hasn’t got a zip ?.
The future is looking bright with some of our youngsters shining, Bellerin, Holding, AMN, Rein-Adelaide, Ox, and Iwobi. I hope Gnabry get another chance to show his potential.
On the comment about Klopp, I think it’s a bit harsh, I think he’s an extremely good manager, he like AW doesn’t like to spend massive amount of money to win trophies but prefer to develop and give young players a chance, so he should get more respect.
The pundits were so wrong by saying Arsenal need forward players. Alexis, Giroud, Theo, Danny, Lucas…
Well, we sure do have quite a bunch of good players.
Wonder how the next eleven to play are going to be chosen.
Good to finaly have that kind of a headache,
Wonder where this so called expert Collymore gets his info for stating that Arsenal have not enough cover.
Probably another fan of alternative facts….
COYG
Must disagree that Arsene doesn’t give credit to his opponents – he always does, makes a point of doing so, in fact, even when they have mainly been kicking us off the pitch.
Match of the Day put our five goal victory an hour into the programme. How do they reckon that? Would they have done the same if it had been Liverpool, or Manchester United?
Pat
Let me try answering that for you if I may.
Perhaps it was because there were other FA cup fixtures played before Arsenal’s. Or maybe because other results seemed more significant to them. Like Liverpool getting beat by a lower league club at home, or Tottenham barely scraping by another lower league club at the Lane.
Since I don’t watch that show I can never be sure why they would put Arsenal’s convincing trashing of Southampton an hour into it , but perhaps your persecution complex is getting the best of you here.
I’ve read the Telegraph and BBC’s match report , since I didn’t see the game, and they were both very complementary of Arsenal’s performance.
Had they not been, they might’ve mentioned Southampton were a mishmash of bench warmers and academy players with nine first team players injured. They also might’ve said Southampton have played one game every three days for the last month which makes them the busiest club in 2017 anywhere in the World.
I think the team selection was interesting, in that we had Saints continuously on the back foot, because they knew they had to (try) to counter our sheer pace.
That might be a consideration when we play Chelsea, because Cahill and Luiz do like to get forward, and players like Feo, Welbz, Ox, Jeff and Lucas, can exploit that.
Team selection for next two games is going to be intriguing to say the least.
Tom do you write scripts for the pundits. Truly a parsimonious twat
Just re-watching game on BT Sport – their introduction says that there is a real buzz around Southampton, the feeling that this can be their year, and today they have a real feeling they can do it.
They are right up for this game (Southampton that is).
Markyb
A “parsimonious twat” is coincidentally a name most often attributed to Arsene Wenger by his critics , so I take it as a complement. Thank you 🙂
Yeah, Tom, you’re definitely one of the most snide, insidious posters on here. I’m sure most of the regulars have learnt to just scroll over your comments.
@Zuruvi
Klopp’s Borussia won the German cup in 2011-12, 5:2 v Bayern.
Just scroll over Tom’s comments – good advice, Jammy J!
Great write up Walter and your right man of the match would be difficult the pc wellbeck Walcott and maitland niles all could have been awarded it. I’d probably go for wellbeck he scored two and assisted for Walcott. Though I think it definitely needs highlighting that Maitland niles who has previously been used as a right back did extremely well in the dm role.
Wow! Jammy J – we have to use some PGMOL technique of selective vision!! Sometimes we learn that we also have to miss some unnecessary tackles. 😉