ARS vs SOU
Match Centre
ARS vs SOU As It Happened
Key moments so far
- Saints beaten at the Emirates
- Lacazette and Mkhitaryan put Gunners 2-0 up inside 30 minutes
- Lacazette misses pair of clear chances to extend advantage
- Ward-Prowse and Targett denied by Leno in second half
FULL-TIME: Arsenal 2-0 Saints
Early goals from Lacazette and Mkhitaryan made this mighty difficult for Saints who couldn't overturn the deficit. The three points go to Arsenal.
On Targett...Leno saves
Matt Targett shows fine technique to get his knee over a half-volley from the edge of the box, it's struck sweetly and Leno is across to claw the ball out from the top corner.
Bednarek from nowhere
Jan Bednarek always finds a way to get his body in the way: the Pole slides in to deny Aubameyang after the Arsenal man had skirted across the Saints penalty area unchallenged.
What a save, Angus 👏
Özil's impudent flick around the corner sends Aubameyand through on goal and the Gabon striker's deflected cross/shot is somehow kept out by the legs of Gunn who was diving in the opposite direction.
One of those afternoons...
Still no way through for Saints who have significantly improved in the second half. Although is has to be said, Arsenal have been happy to sit on their two-goal lead.
Ward-Prowse shot, Kolasinac block
Great work from Højbjerg here: the Dane steams into the Arsenal box from deep and crosses for Ward-Prowse whose half-volley cannons off Kolasinac and away to safety. That was heading in...
Arsenal substitution: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang replaces Alex Iwobi
Aubameyang is on for Iwobi whose injury had prompted Unai Emery to change his mind about replacing Lacazette.
Sponsored by 
Højbjerg shot deflected wide
A roar from the away fans as Højbjerg's half-volley is deflected behind for a corner right in front of them. Austin's looping header almost catches Leno out from the follow-up.
Southampton substitution: Mohamed Elyounoussi replaces Michael Obafemi
A disappointing early end to Obafemi's return to action. He went down clutching his hamstring. Moi Elyounoussi is on for Saints.
Sponsored by
Arsenal substitution: Mesut Özil replaces Aaron Ramsey
The Emirates crowd is on its feet as Mesut Özil takes the place of Ramsey.
Sponsored by
Iwobi threatening
The Nigerian's dancing feet cause problems for Yan Valery down the right, twice crosses flash past Angus Gunn's goal through the six-yard box with no Arsenal players there to convert.
Searching for an opening
An improved spell here for Saints after the break but Arsenal look to be getting a grip on the game once more, at least in terms of possession...
SO CLOSE, PROWSEY!
A bizarre attempted clearance from Xhaka turns into a perfect pass for Ward-Prowse who controls on his chest and CRUSHES a shot just past Leno's left-hand post. BIG chance.
Southampton substitution: Charlie Austin replaces Jack Stephens
...and serial scorer against Arsenal, Charlie Austin. He is on for Jack Stephens which means a change to four in defence for Saints.
Sponsored by
Southampton substitution: Michael Obafemi replaces Stuart Armstrong
Two half-time changes for Saints, the first sees Michael Obafemi make his first appearance since 23 December at Huddersfield...
Sponsored by
HALF-TIME: Arsenal 2-0 Saints
Arsenal end the half on top and ought to have added a goal or two more. Some bright attacking spots for Saints but we've got an awful lot to do in the second half.
Gunn with the legs on Lacazette (again)
Kolasinac and Lacazette combine again for the Frenchman to slam a shot into the legs of Gunn from the edge of the penalty amidst a crowd of red and yellow shirts.
Big miss from Lacazette
Should be 3-0. Kolasinac comes from nowhere to steal a loose ball away from Romeu and tee up Lacazette who, from inside the six-yard box, somehow skies his shot clean over the bar.
Gunn saves from Lacazette
Lacazette meets Xhaka's corner from the right with a glancing header which is comfortably held by Angus Gunn.
Action shots from the Emirates
Two chances, two goals for Arsenal. Just over 10 minutes to play before half-time.
Bednarek 👏👏👏
Lacazette finds space down the right-hand channel and is primed to slot Arsenal into 3-0 lead before Bednarek superbly blocks his shot on the slide.
Promising play from Valery
Great work from Yan Valery down the right as the Frenchman glides forward, beats Kolasinac and Torreira with a drag-back and wins Saints a corner. The resulting delivery is headed clear.
GOAL: Arsenal 2-0 Saints (Mkhitaryan)
Mistakes from Stephens and Gunn present the ball to Iwobi whose deflected pass across the area is side-footed into the net by Henrikh Mkhitaryan at the back post.
GOAL
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (16’) | 2 – 0
Leno saves from Targett!
...Saints recycle the ball back to Targett again and the full-back's firmly-struck shot is pushed out by Leno with Armstrong and Redmond sniffing around for rebounds.
Armstrong header blocked!
Strong response to going behind: Targett's cross is headed back into danger by Redmond and Armstrong's header is blocked on the line!
Xhaka curls over the bar
Patient play from Arsenal who eventually feed the ball back to Granit Xhaka on the edge of the box. "SHOOOOT" is the cry from the home fans and he obliges, curling just over the crossbar with his left foot.
GOAL: Arsenal 1-0 Saints (Lacazette)
Such fine margins. Moments after Redmond's shot was saved, Arsenal charge up the other end and fortuitously open the scoring; Mkhitaryan's shot is hit into the path of Lacazette who steers in from six yards out.
GOAL
Alexandre Lacazette (6’) | 1 – 0
LENO DENIES REDMOND! 😖
What a chance this is: Valery's clipped ball in behind is chased down by Redmond who cuts back on to his left foot and sees his shot blocked by Arsenal's Leno at close range.
Bright start from Saints
Saints on the front foot in these early exchanges with Nathan Redmond twice causing concern for Sokratis with his pace in behind the Greek defender.
SHOWTIME!
Away we go at the Emirates Stadium with Saints kicking from right to left as we look in the first half. LET'S DO THIS, YELLOWS!
🔟 to go...
Not long to go now until the end of what has been a very long wait since Saints' last taste of Premier League action. As it happens, this man has scored in every one of his five appearances against the Gunners. Second-half sub winner?
13.56Valery: We have worked really hard
No stone was left unturned during Saints' training camp in Tenerife according to Yan Valery. The Frenchman has been speaking ahead of today's game at the Emirates...
13.42Liking that line up, Saints?
So, THREE changes to the Saints side that lost at home to Cardiff just over two weeks ago. IN come Angus Gunn, Matt Targett and Stuart Armstrong...
OUT go Alex McCarthy, Ryan Bertrand and Shane Long. Youngsters Callum Slattery and Michael Obafemi make the bench.
ARSENAL XI TO FACE SAINTS
ARSENAL XI: Leno; Lichtsteiner, Mustafi, Sokratis, Kolasinac; Xhaka, Iwobi, Mkhitaryan, Ramsey, Torreira; Lacazette
SAINTS XI TO FACE ARSENAL
SAINTS XI: Gunn; Stephens, Bednarek, Vestergaard; Valery, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Højbjerg, Targett; Armstrong, Redmond.
SUBS: McCarthy, Yoshida, Austin, Elyounoussi, Bertrand, Slattery, Obafemi.
Checking in!
Saints are in the building which means team news will be coming your way in just under FIVE minutes' time. There are a couple of surprises too...
13.01YELLOWS 💛💙
The greatest away colours of all time are out again today!
12.28📍 N7 7AJ
We've got the perfect February day for it here in north London with team news now just under ONE HOUR away...
12.05Last time at the Emirates: Arsenal 3-2 Saints
Five goals, two red cards, a thriller at the Emirates in this fixture in April of last year. Same determination, different result the target today.
11.2911.22we will do everything to make the fans proud. i can guarantee the team will do everything to try and take something from the game.
ralph hasenhüttlsouthampton fc
The boss' full pre-match verdict
We caught up with Ralph Hasenhüttl in his office at Staplewood, where he set his sights on making a winning return to Premier League action at Emirates Stadium...
Armstrong boost
Obafemi isn't the only man who could give the Saints frontline an extra boost today. The good news was broken by Ralph Hasenhüttl in his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon: "Stuart is back on the pitch and has had no problems for the last fortnight."
10.45#Obafemi2022
The other big news this week has been the new contract awarded to youngster Michael Obafemi. The striker has signed until 2022 and, after missing all of 2019 so far, is ready to make a first-team return for Saints.
10.42A long time in football...
Two weeks is a long time in football. A lot has happened since Saints' last league outing against Cardiff. The squad has been to Tenerife and back for a warm weather training camp to right the wrongs of that bitterly disappointing afternoon at St Mary's. As far as timing goes, we could not have prepared better for this trip to the Emirates...
10.4010.36We know that we can be a visiting and be difficult to beat. i think we can take another clean sheet, as we did against chelsea.
ralph hasenhüttlsouthampton fc
What a night...
An obvious place to start for our build-up to today's game. THE highlight of the Hasenhüttl era so far? A brace for Danny Ings and a late winner from Charlie Austin simply brought the roof off St Mary's...
10.35FINALLY!
It's been a long wait but we're finally back!
Arsenal the opponents today at the Emirates. The first full week of training under Ralph Hasenhüttl earned Saints a huge 3-2 win over the Gunners in December. Two weeks in Tenerife precede today's game...6-4, anyone? Team news, pre-match stats and of course all the action from North London coming right up!
ARS vs SOU Line Ups
Arsenal
| 19 |
Bernd Leno (GK)
|
|---|---|
| 5 |
Sokratis
|
| 12 |
Stephan Lichtsteiner
Laurent Koscielny (56′)
|
| 31 |
Sead Kolasinac
|
| 20 |
Shkodran Mustafi
|
| 17 |
Alex Iwobi
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (75′)
|
| 11 |
Lucas Torreira
|
| 7 |
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
|
| 34 |
Granit Xhaka
|
| 8 |
Aaron Ramsey (C)
Mesut Özil (63′)
|
| 9 |
Alexandre Lacazette
|
Substitutes
| 10 |
Mesut Özil |
|---|---|
| 22 |
Denis Suárez |
| 29 |
Matteo Guendouzi |
| 1 |
Petr Cech |
| 6 |
Laurent Koscielny |
| 14 |
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang |
| 18 |
Nacho Monreal |
Southampton
| 28 |
Angus Gunn (GK)
|
|---|---|
| 5 |
Jack Stephens
Charlie Austin (45′)
|
| 35 |
Jan Bednarek
|
| 4 |
Jannik Vestergaard
|
| 33 |
Matt Targett
|
| 23 |
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (C)
|
| 16 |
James Ward-Prowse
|
| 14 |
Oriol Romeu
|
| 43 |
Yan Valery
|
| 22 |
Nathan Redmond
|
| 17 |
Stuart Armstrong
Michael Obafemi (45′)
Mohamed Elyounoussi (65′)
|
Substitutes
| 1 |
Alex McCarthy |
|---|---|
| 61 |
Michael Obafemi |
| 10 |
Charlie Austin |
| 11 |
Mohamed Elyounoussi |
| 55 |
Callum Slattery |
| 3 |
Maya Yoshida |
| 21 |
Ryan Bertrand |
ARS vs SOU Match Stats
Head to Head Stats
-
Possession (%)6238
-
Shots1210
-
Shots on target44
-
Corners64
-
Passes Complete477244
