Arsenal will be hoping for maximum rewards against the stuttering Southampton tomorrow night as they battle to win back top position on the Premier League table.
Now winless in six outings across all competitions, alarm bells must be ringing around St. Mary’s Stadium with the side slipping to 12th and not really showing any signs of turning things around.
Having won the most Premier League points away from in the league at the moment and having only ever lost one Boxing Day fixture, the odds seem to lie with the Gunners this weekend.
Key Battle – Victor Wanyama vs Mesut Özil
As is so often the case, the task of stifling an opposition playmaker falls to the Saints’ defensive-midfielder, but this task will be as challenging, if not more so, as any he has faced in his career. In a formation with two screeners, the bulk of defensive responsibility lies with Victor Wantama and the need to keep the lines between midfield and defence tight will be imperative in this match.
To say that Mesut Ozil is having a good season would be understatement of the year, with 15 assists already to his name, the German is so far clear above the rest in this statistic, that if he did not play another game this season it is unlikely that he wouldd be overtaken. The playmaker’s creativity has been a driving force behind his side’s second place positioning and even when not accredited with the assist himself, it has so often been his work that unlocks the opposition defence in the first place. A master at finding space, hitting the gaps and one of the most dangerous in the league when given too much time and space, the former Real Madrid man will be a constant threat in this game.
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Team News
Maarten Stekelenburg may be in line to return against the Gunners, but Ronald Koeman is uncertain as to whether the Dutchman will have recovered from his toe injury.
Arsène Wenger too is still without a number of key names due to injury layoffs. Alexis Sánchez, Jack Wilshere, Mikel Arteta, Francis Coquelin, Danny Welbeck, Santi Cazorla and Tomás Rosicky all look set to continue their absences.
Head-to-Head
A definitive dominance is held by the Gunners in this fixture, having won 38 of the 77 meetings. The Saints claim 18 victories and the spoils were shared on 21 occasions.
Previous Meeting
The last meeting between these two sides was a victory for Southampton, which has only happened once in the past 11 Premier League meetings, thanks to goals from Sadio Mané and Dusan Tadić.
Prediction
The Saints are struggling to find form at the moment, a problem not facing the Gunners in recent weeks. Key players are underperforming and the team as a whole is unable to create and take the chances that seemed so much more abundant earlier on in the season. The only real hope for the home side looks to be if Arsenal’s forward line are unable to convert the abundance of chances that are sure to come up.
Southampton 0 Arsenal 2
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