The Saints will again best the Gunners
For the third time in the space of little over a month, Southampton and Arsenal will collide. The Saints won the 'dress rehearsal' for this return league fixture last weekend in the FA Cup, courtesy of a decisive own goal by Gabriel. The visitors' ability to rotate their squad more thanks to greater depth will make the contest just as close as the previous two have been, but their victory on Saturday ended a reasonably good spell for Mikel Arteta, and that psychological advantage could be vital on Tuesday night at St. Mary's. Read our preview here:
Hooray for Che
Austrian manager Ralph Hasenhüttl will only make one change from the starting XI that held off the Gunners at the weekend. Alex McCarthy will return in between the sticks in place of deputy Fraser Forster. Otherwise, the thinking will largely be the same, although more close attention will need to be paid in the middle of the park to cut off Thomas Partey's marches through. 21 year old defensive midfielder Ibrahima Diallo, still in the early days of his career, will have an onerous task placed on him to stifle Partey and Emile Smith-Rowe, but will doubtlessly be helped out by James Ward-Prowse and the wingers tucking inside to form a bank of four. Elsewhere, Che Adams continues to visibly improve, and is a great partner for Danny Ings. The former Birmingham City forward will be hopeful of improving on his goal tally in 2020/2021, and he'll be up against Rob Holding and David Luiz. Both stoppers are more than capable of a momentary lapse of concentration.
A VIP seat for Smith-Rowe
Creativity, or moreover, a moment of magic and ingenuity, has been one of the principle factors lacking in Arsenal's season to date. Mesut Özil sealed his permanent move back to Turkey last week, and with time running out in the transfer window, it's unlikely he'll be 'replaced'. He might not need to be. Arteta had done without the mercurial playmaker all season long, but could have found his solution in the burgeoning talent of Emile Smith-Rowe. The attacking midfielder gained vital first time experience with loan spells at Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig and Championship strugglers Huddersfield Town in the previous two campaigns, and the England U-21 international has been gently eased into the first team picture in red and white this term, most notably in the Europa League. In the last month however, he's been increasingly selected by his head coach in the bread and butter of the Premier League, and to great effect, too. He has been directly involved in a goal seven times in the last 10 games, and his playing style encourages his teammates to get involved and support him. Partey will be a big beneficiary of this, as will the similarly exciting Bukayo Saka, who was his junior in the academy.
Indian signs?
Although it is a tired cliché, Arsenal very much are a side in transition. They possess relatively few older heads on their roster, and the main focus for the next few years, regardless of whether Arteta manages to stay in post, will be to keep bringing through players from the exciting production line they have within their ranks. Both the advantages and disadvantages of that approach are obvious, as Southampton know all too well. The Gunners can leapfrog their opponents into a possible 10th position with a win, which is testament to where they're at as a football club. Qualifying through the league for a European place looks beyond them, and more heartache could be on the way on Tuesday. bet365 are offering odds to reflect the tight contested, with a draw half-time/Southampton full-time priced at 7.00.
