Southampton vs Arsenal

Date – 25/06/2020

Kick off time – 18:00pm (GMT)

Venue – St Mary’s Stadium

Head to Head Stats

In the last three meetings between these two, it’s been very even with both sides winning one and drawing the other. (1W, 1D, 1L)

The Gunners have beaten the Saints 5 times out of their last 10 meetings.

In the last game at St Mary’s Southampton ran out 3-2 winners.

Last time out it ended in a 2-2 draw between the two sides.

Match Preview

It’s been a week to forget for Arsenal fans, losing their first two games since the restart which was enough to send anyone into a melt down, then the news broke yesterday that we have extended David Luiz’s contract while giving out two 4 year deals to players who have played a combined 204 minutes for the club. These decisions are questionable to say the least, but I won’t be writing off Mari and Soares before we have had a chance to watch them properly.

I see this being a very tight match considering the form both sides are in at the moment, with the Saints coming off a 0-3 hammering of Norwich was will undoubtedly give them a boost heading into this one. On top of that, the Gunners haven’t got the best record at St Mary’s, however without the home sides fans to push them on Arteta will hope his side can show enough fight in order to get something from the game. I believe the away side will try to dictate the game, keeping possession as much a possible to limit the home sides chances of counter attacking, while hopefully being more clinical then they were against Brighton. Let’s see the injury news for both teams:

Arteta will have mixed emotions after the latest injury report as Bernd Leno’s injury is nowhere near as bad as first feared, with him expected to be fit in time for the start of next season. On the other hand, young star Gabriel Martinelli has injured his knee in training and is facing a couple of months on the sidelines. Pablo Mari has been ruled out for 2-3 months with his injury against Manchester City. A major boost will be Granit Xhaka potentially being available for Arsenal in this fixture as he has recovered from a slight sprained ankle much quicker than expected. The Saints have a fully fit squad for Thursday evenings game.

Predicted Lineup

Formation – 4-2-3-1

GK – Emilio Martinez

RB – Hector Bellerin

CB – Rob Holding

CB – Shkodran Mustafi

LB – Kieran Tierney

CM – Dani Cellabos

CM – Granit Xhaka

RM- Nicolas Pepe

CAM- Mesut Ozil

LM – Aubameyang

ST – Eddie Nketiah

Score Prediction

I think it will be a tight match, but I think the Gunners will come out on top:

Southampton 1-2 Arsenal

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James Humphreys