“Maybe there will be one or two younger players, but no more…. I have not yet completely decided who will play and who will not play. It’s a first-team squad who will be involved.”
As for Southampton Mr Wenger said, “They are on a high. They produced a fantastic performance, so overall that makes the game even more interesting and more difficult as well. They are not short of confidence at the moment and will certainly have a big support, but it’s an FA Cup game and we want to qualify.”
Comparing Arsenal away and Southampton at home
Arsenal get more cards away (20 yellows) than Southampton at home (12), although Southampton have also had 2 reds at home (Arsenal none away).
The pass success rate is similar (79% Southampton at home, 83% Arsenal away) and indeed this similarity runs throughout the teams when we compare the two sets of stats for Southampton at home and Arsenal away. For example Arsenal away get 5.0 shots on target per game on average. For Southampton at home the number is 4.9.
But there is one key difference: Southampton at home attack on the wings – only 25% of their attacks go down the middle. With Arsenal there is a much greater balance between attacks on the left, right and down the middle – roughly one third in each case.
As for the historic facts, we’ve only lost one of the last 18 FA Cup games, and won 12, drawn four and lost two of the last 18 league games. In particular the recovery from the successive defeats in the league has been positive (four wins and drawn one of our last five league games).
Southampton have won nine lost seven and drawn two of their last 18 FA Cup games. They have won one and lost five of their last six league games. In the cup last season they went out in the 3rd round and in the fourth round in 2014/15.
But Southampton have scored at least two goals in their last three home games against Arsenal and they are undefeated in their last five home matches against us in all competitions.
It is not going to be easy.
Next: the rest of the stats and the teams.
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Southampton v Arsenal
- Southampton v Arsenal: top scorers and comparing the clubs’ style and approach
- Mr Wenger v The FA – the full 20 year history. And the world of the fake innuendo.
- Southampton v Arsenal: Daily Telegraph joins Independent by moving into the Post-Truth world
- Southampton v Arsenal: something must be wrong with the injury tables.
From the History Society
- Arthur Gilbert Biggs: only three games for Arsenal but a varied football career
- Arsenal in the summer: the overseas tour of 1937
- Arsenal players 1936/7, Arsenal crowds in the 30s, and comparisons with earlier years
- The Index of articles about Arsenal players throughout history: A to K L to Z
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Can see Soton using and probably get away with dark arts against us today…..but we can win this one.
Looks like L’pool will be the day’s FA cup upset! They are almost dead and Chelsea can kill them off in EPL on Tuesday. We need L’pool to take points away from the Russians.
Scouser with an absolute blatant dive.
Rightly the ref is having none of it.
But why no booking?
Why no outrage from McMananan and co?
Not a word. No disgrace. No shame.
Nope, we just move on. No harm done.
Again just another example of the way things are dealt with by a ref, and reacted to by the pundits when it’s anyone other than Arsenal.
Liverpool out!
Dear oh dear.
The media should be slaughtering them, but the trouble is they’ll be too busy crying.
Our squad should cope with Sou who should also be a little tired. We can’t underestimate them though.
Pool will recover to give Chel$ a fight i think.
It is these very close fixtures PL,FA,CL that will get teams tired, and Arsenal had to learn to increase the squad, especially with our many (not too far recent) injuries.
Could have been a bad day for the media, but fortunately for them, Spurs won the game at the death