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Final score: Southampton 1-1 Arsenal
Goals: Charlie Austin 3' (Southampton), Olivier Giroud 88' (Arsenal)
Arsenal were hosted by Southampton at the St. Mary's Stadium for their Matchday 16 clash of the Premier League. Just a week after conceding 2 early goals against Manchester United, Arsenal were subject to a rather cruel sense of deja vu, as Charlie Austin capitalised on a Per Mertesacker error to beat Petr Cech to put Southampton ahead in just the 3rd minute of the game.
What followed, was an extended display of Arsenal's woes and concerns. Despite holding the ball for 67% of the match, the Gunners failed to find the back of the net, until, Olivier Giroud, just had to be him, didn't it? rescued Arsene Wenger and his side, coming off the bench to score in the 88th minute.
Here's a look at the major talking points from the hard-fought clash at St. Mary's:
#5 What good is a poorly defended Arsenal?
Early goals were what caused Arsenal's downfall against Manchester United a week ago, and the Gunners could not have made a worse start against Southampton. A back 3 of Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal, and Per Mertesacker (who replaced injured Shkodran Mustafi) struggled at the start of the game, and the team sure paid the price for it.
In just the 3rd minute of the game, Southampton were handed the lead as Charlie Austin made the most of Dusan Tadic's pass to beat Petr Cech and break the hearts of Arsenal's devout fans.
To make matters worse, Austin found himself in front of goal just a couple of minutes later due to a defensive lapse. Fortunately for the Gunners, the Englishman failed to double the lead.
The switch to 4 at the back, following Per Mertesacker's departure in the second half, added stability, but the damage had already been done.
If Arsenal wish to make much of this season, they will desperately have to address their issues at the back.
#4 Keep an eye on Southampton's attacking quartet
Southampton's attacking quartet of James Ward-Prowse, Dusan Tadic, Nathan Redmond, and Charlie Austin, make you sit back and wonder how the Saints have only managed to score 16 goals in the league, so far this season.
Dusan Tadic and Charlie Austin linked up wonderfully at the start of the game to give Southampton the lead, while James Ward-Prowse was rather impressive in the second half. Nathan Redmond was a livewire throughout.
Tadic was by far the best player of the game, with 2 tackles, 4 successful dribbles, and the all-important assist for the game's opener.
#3 Aaron Ramsey is in fine touch
Arsenal's beloved Welshman continued to be Arsenal's beacon of hope in attack, as he notched 4 shots, albeit none of them found the back of the net.
Ramsey, who had scored 2 goals and assisted 6 more in his last 7 Premier League games for Arsenal, before this game, failed to produce either but led from the front in terms of challenging Fraser Forster, Southampton's shot-stopper.
With Arsenal's famed attacking trio of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette managing just 4 shots between them, the onus seemed to fall on Ramsey's shoulder, and the 26-year-old obliged.
He will undoubtedly rue the chances he missed, but if he continues like this, it's just a matter of time before he inspires the rest of the seemingly insipid attack.
#2 Southampton dig deep to walk away with a point
Mauricio Pellegrino's side dug rather deep to keep Arsenal's arsenal at bay, and the solitary point they walked away with, gave them a sniff of the top half of the Premier League table, as they rose to 10th place, although Everton's subsequent draw against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby soon snatched the Saints' short-lived glory.
Although Southampton will feel hard done to not walk away with all 3 points, this spirited display against an attacking Arsenal side will thoroughly boost the confidence in the Hampshire-based team's camp, ahead of a challenging set of fixtures, including away trips to Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.
Southampton's solid defensive display included 14 tackles, 36 clearances, and 20 interceptions, as compared to Arsenal's 12, 13, and 7 respectively. Notably, Arsenal took a total of 11 shots, of which 6 were on target, but would've failed to score if not for Olivier Giroud's late equaliser.
#1 Wait, why doesn't Olivier Giroud start?
Yes, I know he's Arsenal's super sub. That doesn't mean I understand it. Arsenal's Puskas award-winning striker has rescued them more often than Batman has rescued Gotham.
Last season, he played 1,206 minutes of Premier League football and scored 12 goals. I'd love to talk in terms of games, but Giroud doesn't play too many full ones, does he?
For context, consider this: Mesut Ozil played 2,841 minutes and scored 8. Yes, I'm aware that Ozil's a playmaking midfielder and not a forward. Fair enough. In terms of assists, Ozil notched 11, while Giroud notched 5. Meanwhile, Alexis Sanchez played 3,217 minutes and scored 24 goals.
I'm no mathematician, but he certainly seems to have outdone both, Ozil and Sanchez, in terms of rate of scoring. This season, Giroud has 4 goals from 253 minutes, as compared to Ozil's 2 from 1010 minutes and Sanchez's 4 from 974.
As an extension of #3, why does Aaron Ramsey have to be the top shot-taker, when Olivier Giroud is decorating the bench? What more does Olivier Giroud need to do, to break into Arsene Wenger's first team?
Stats from premierleague.com and WhoScored
