Olivier Giroud shows his clinical touch as Arsenal dispatch Southampton

Olivier Giroud celebrates his second goal against Southampton at the Emirates Stadium.

Going in to this game both teams knew a victory would send them top of the Premier League after Liverpool’s draw in the Merseyside derby. It was the Gunners though who came out on top in a game they won well, however it was not as comfortable as the score line may suggest.

An Artur Boruc howler led to Olivier Giroud tapping in the opener while a late penalty, conceded by Jose Fonte, was despatched by the French striker to rap up the points.

Incidentally after conceding to Asmir Begovic against Stoke City Boruc said he owed Southampton two points, after his mistake today he may feel he owes them even more.

Key Stats

There really was not much to pick between the two sides with pretty much every key stat being only slight in difference.

Both sides had four shots on target, and including off target and blocked efforts Arsenal had eight compared to Southampton’s 10. Perhaps tellingly it was Arsenal converting two of their on target efforts that was the deciding factor.

Possession wise neither side bossed it, with Arsenal having a slight edge with 51% of the ball, Arsene Wenger had a slight advantage in both tackle success and pass completion being a little bit better than Southampton in both.

It was being just that little bit better though that provided the home side with the three points they needed to stay in first place.

Man of the Match:

Olivier Giroud picked up the Man of the Match award today after scoring a brace. His final Squawka Performance Score of 62 which was by far better than any of Mauricio Pochettino’s players.

His two goals came from just three shots at goal which gave him an impressive 66% conversion rate. He was also impressive in the air winning all five of his headers.

It was a real centre forward’s performance from one of the division’s most prolific strikers this season.

Performance Score

The graph shows two things. Arsenal got better and better as the match went on, especially after the opening goal whereas Southampton’s score fluctuated as they came in and out of the match. At times they looked like they would equalise , while at other phases they looked to be well out of it.

By the 15th minute Southampton actually had a better performance score, 28 compared to 13, but had already fallen behind by the time Giroud scored the first goal of the game and never even got close to their opponents after.

Arsenal’s highest score was at full time achieving 297 while Saints were at their best with 10 minutes left with a score of 105. This had dropped to 28 by full time.

Key Observations

This game showed something important about both teams. Arsenal won well, although not comfortably, against a good side who have caused many other top half teams problems this season. The win further enforces their claim to be title challengers this season.

For Southampton this match began the run up to Christmas where they will face a number of the bigger sides including Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham. After an impressive start to the campaign this next month will really show where their ambitions lie.

Southampton will be disappointed with their final product today. Usually so good everything was just that little bit off the pace today with 79% of passes completed and only four of 14 crosses finding a team mate.