Southampton came through on Boxing Day with a surprise victory over the much fancied Arsenal, decimating the Gunner’s defence in a 4-0 rout.
After a stunning long-range strike from Cuco Martina, on his full Premier League debut, opened the scoring it seemed that the visitors were unable to recover. Defensively, the travelling team were weak and in terms of attacking force they were non-existent.
The pace of Shane Long and Sadio Mané up front exposed the Arsenal defence repeatedly while a few half chances seemed the best that Arsène Wenger’s team could manage up front. The victory ends the Saints’ six game winless streak but was not enough to elevate them into the top half; they still sit in 12th. The London team’s position also remains unchanged at second on the table.
Southampton
Maarten Stekelenburg – 6: Returning to the side after injury the Dutchman was solid but was rarely threatened by the Arsenal attack.
Ryan Bertrand – 7: Dealt comfortably with both Campbell and Walcott on his flank.
Virgil van Dijk – 7.5: Dominated in the air and almost grabbed a goal of his own if not for an offside call.
Jose Fonte – 8: Solid defensively and helped out his side with the third goal from a corner.
Cuco Martina – 7.5: Scored an impressive goal on his starting PL debut and was generally good in attack and defence.
Jordy Clasie – 7: Did well in clogging Arsenal’s midfield channels.
Victor Wanyama – 8: Excellent in this game, broke up virtually all of the opposition play in his area of the park.
James Ward-Prowse – 6.5: Passing was good, finishing was not.
Steven Davis – 6.5: Moved the ball around well in typical fashion.
Sadio Mané – 7.5: Pace and movement tore through the Gunner’s defensive line.
Shane Long – 8.5: Worked non-stop in this one and was fully deserving of his two goals.
Video: Long's controversial goal. pic.twitter.com/A9GOHsdnhL #SOUARS
— Gurjit (@GurjitAFC) December 26, 2015
Substitutes
Oriol Romeu – 6: Came on to sure up the midfield and did what was needed. Substituted on for Clasie in the 67th minute.
Dusan Tadić – 7.0: Almost grabbed himself a goal and got an assist. Substituted on for Ward-Prowse in the 71st minute.
Juanmi – N/A: Substituted on for Mané in the 81st minute.
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