Arsenal recorded its first home win of the season in dramatic fashion, defeating a spirited Southampton side 2-1 thanks to a Santi Cazorla injury-time penalty goal.
The Saints were rewarded for their dominance early on, with an excellent Dusan Tadic free-kick ricocheting off of a scrambling Petr Cech and into the back of the net. The Gunners finally equalised through an unexpected, yet spectacular, overhead kick from Laurent Koscielny on the half-hour.
A highly-controversial penalty was buried late by Man-of-the-Match Cazorla, much to the delight of the Emirates crowd.
Arsenal
Petr Cech – 7: Unlucky to register an own goal following his fingertip save to deflect Tadic’s free-kick onto the underside of the bar. He was called upon late in the game and stood tall against Southampton’s fast counter.
Hector Bellerin – 7: Used his blistering pace down the right wing and delivered a plethora of crosses into the final third. Came close to scoring with a thunderous strike in the second half.
Laurent Koscielny – 7: The Frenchman celebrated his 31st birthday with an exquisite bicycle kick to fire his side back into the game. Forged a reliable partnership with debutant Shkodran Mustafi in the heart of defence.
Shkodran Mustafi – 6.5: The newly-signed German centre-back was commanding with the ball and his willingness to carry possession forward would have impressed Arsene Wenger. Guilty of a few wayward passes, but showed enough justify his signing.
Nacho Monreal – 6: The Spaniard’s clumsy challenge led to Tadic’s opener, but improved on his tough start to the game with excellent defending down the left side.
Francis Coquelin – 6.5: Handed a start over Granit Xhaka and Mo Elneny. Was caught on the counter on a few occasions, but did his job as the tough-tackling deep midfielder.
Santi Cazorla – 8.5: The standout performer, Cazorla showed poise and intent through the midfield and instigated much of Arsenal’s attack. He cut off a promising momentum for Southampton late on, and his coolly taken penalty was a just reward for his complete display.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 7: A frustrating afternoon for the winger as he never really got going, and he cut a defeated figure when he was substituted off for Alexis Sanchez. Looked good when cutting in from the left, but the end product was lacking.
Mesut Ozil – 8: His usual deftness on the ball was lacking, and he squandered a number of promsing chances with a poor first touch. Still, the German maestro created four chances but drifted in and out of the match and was locked down by resolute defending.
Theo Walcott – 6.5: Started slowly and never really blossomed. His frustration was evident in a number of misjudged challenges and was lucky to avoid a booking. however, he showed positive movement into advanced areas.
Lucas Perez – 6: Hard to evaluate as he did not receive the service he would have wanted in his debut. Did not look comfortable playing as a lone striker, and will need time to adjust to his new role and new league.
Substitutes:
Alexis Sanchez – 7.5: Came on with 30 minutes left and created more headaches for the Southampton defence. Sent several dangerous crosses in and made good runs into the box. He should return to the starting lineup next week.
Olivier Giroud – 6.5: Provided an alternative avenue to goal for Arsenal, with the big-bodied forward latching onto a number of crosses using his strength and size. Won his side the telling penalty.
Alex Iwobi – 6: Featured for the final 15 minutes and was bright on the ball.
Southampton
Fraser Forster – 6: Was helpless in saving Koscielny’s acrobatic goal, and used his physicality to intelligently deal with Arsenal’s set pieces. His good work was undone when Cazorla belted home the late penalty.
Cedric – 5: Kept Oxlade-Chamberlain quiet and ineffective, but was exposed when his side sat deep and allowed Arsenal to control possession.
Jose Fonte – 6: The Portuguese centre-back was put under constant pressure, and did well to handle the relentless Arsenal attack during the second half. Performed well for 90 minutes before his awkward tackle on Giroud in area saw his side leave empty handed.
Virgil van Dijk – 7.5: The Dutchman was the best afield for the Saints, intervening at crucial times to prevent Arsenal’s attack. Was dominant in the air, and looked composed on the ball despite growing pressure from the home side.
Ryan Bertrand – 7: Able to shut down Theo Walcott for the majority of the match, as well as make runs into space and contribute to the attack.
Steven Davis – 6.5: Battled hard in front of Southampton’s centre-backs to restrict the influence of Ozil, and did his best considering the persistent opposition attack.
Oriol Romeu – 6.5: Had a similar game to Davis, but was more effective in his tackling pressure and ability to close out the space for opponents to operate in.
Jordie Clasie – 6: Unable to push forward given the immense pressure from the hosts, which resulted in him sitting deep in his own half.
Dusan Tadic – 7: Scored a neatly-taken free-kick, and was the biggest threat for Southampton for the majority of the game.
Nathan Redmond – 6: Provided good energy down the wing, but was too often dispossessed due to strong defending. Gave away a number of unnecessary fouls.
Jay Rodriguez – 5.5: His chances on goal were too few and far between and he never really established himself given the well-marshalled back four of Arsenal. Substituted for Shane Long at half-time.
Substitutes:
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 6: Looked comfortable in possession, and impressed with neat passing in tight areas.
Shane Long – 5.5: Seemed too relaxed, and had three good goal-scoring opportunities but failed to make any of them count.
James Ward-Prowse – 5.5: Had little time to make great inroads on the game.
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