Michael Owen reveals his prediction for Arsenal's clash against Southampton

Former Ballon d'Or winner Michael Owen has given his prediction for Arsenal's match against Southampton in the Premier League at St. Mary's Stadium on Saturday, 16 April. He believes the Gunners will beat the Saints comfortably with a 2-0 scoreline.

Both teams will go into the match in poor form but the Saints have struggled much more than the Gunners. Southampton have lost four and drawn one out of their last five Premier League matches. Their last league match was a 6-0 hammering at home against Chelsea.

Mikel Arteta's men will go on the back of two wins in their last five Premier League matches. They suffered back-to-back defeats against Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion in their last two games.

Writing in his column for BetVictor, Owen gave his prediction for the match and stated his reasons as well. He wrote (via The Sport Review):

“Southampton are a strange side. They go through spells of brilliant form but are also prone to heavy defeats like the one last week. Make no mistake, Chelsea could easily have won by more than six. I’m curious what Southampton we will see here."

He emphasized the north London side's lack of goalscoring, having scored just two goals in four matches. However, he still predicted them to win the match, writing:

“Just when I was beginning to trust this Arsenal side, they’ve now gone and lost two in a row! The pressure is now firmly on them, and they really can’t afford any more dropped points. The big worry is that the goals have really dried up. Just two goals in their last four, that’s not going to get them in the top four. I’m picking Arsenal though. Southampton were all over the place last week, I don’t think we’ll see much improvement here.”

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Arsenal desperately need the three points against Southampton to stay in the race for the top four

The Gunners' back-to-back defeats have put them fifth in the Premier League table. They are three points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand.

With just seven games remaining, any further slip-ups could be the end of their push for the top four. Arsenal also have tough fixtures coming up against Chelsea, Manchester United, West Ham United and Spurs.

Hence, saying that they need to beat Southampton on Saturday to keep their top four hopes alive would be an understatement.