Gunners hit Saints for six

Arsenal 6-1 Southampton

Following the recent international break, Arsenal returned to Premier League action in sumptuous form on Saturday, defeating Southampton 6-1. It was as if the Gunners hadn’t been away, as they picked up right where they had left off in the 2-0 win against Liverpool, simply playing Southampton off the park. The visitors just could not live with Arsenal’s crisp one touch passing, with the home side able to link up so well with each other, often creating chances at will.

Nigel Adkins’ side did slightly play into Arsenal’s hands, as unlike Sunderland, in the first game of the season, they did not sit back and defend in numbers, in an attempt to grind out a 0-0 draw. Southampton in fact admirably adhered to their own attacking principles as more often than not, they opted to play the ball out from defence rather than lump it up to Rickie Lambert. The negative aspect of this tactic however was that the visitors played a relatively high defensive line, allowing plenty of space in behind for Arsenal to exploit and this coupled with the fact that in the first half in particular, Southampton tended to sit off the Arsenal players, was a recipe for disaster. With no real pressure being placed on him Santi Cazorla was able to majestically control the midfield, his piercing through balls creating havoc in the Southampton defence.

While Lukas Podolski, deployed once again on the left wing, was able to cut inside time and time again and influence the game from the middle of the park. It was his great strength and determination in the 11^th minute, which directly resulted in Arsenal taking an early lead. Surrounded by three Southampton players, the German international refused to lose possession and somehow managed to not only hold them all off but also come away with the ball. Podolski surged forward before playing the ball through to Kieran Gibbs, on the left hand side of the box, and the young Englishman’s shot across goal was only partially saved by Kelvin Davis, the ball hitting the unfortunate Hooiveld before rolling across the line. Arsenal never looked back. The Gunners were playing with such verve and confidence that it was surely only a matter of time before they would further increase their lead.

Gibbs celebrates Arsenal's first goal

 

In the 31^st minute, a foul on Francis Coquelin presented Arsenal with a free kick which in previous seasons would have had the home crowd chanting the name of their former captain, in great anticipation. On this occasion, up stepped Lukas Podolski to fire home a ferocious curling effort into the back of the net.  The feeling around the Emirates was clearly one of Robin Van who? With the home crowd chanting: “Lukas Podolski, he scores when he wants.”

Podolski celebrates his wonderful free kick

 

Podolski’s wonderful free kick set the wheels in motion for an emphatic period in which Arsenal would score three goals in seven minutes. Mikel Arteta’s perfectly weighted through ball, sent the magnificent Gervinho through on goal and the Ivorian, who on so many occasions makes the wrong decision in the final third, on this occasion duly, smashed the ball home, inside Davis’ near post. Two minutes later, Kieran Gibbs’ cross deflected off Nathaniel Clyne and flew past Davis to make the score 4-0. Yet although the Gunners were in complete control at this stage, Southampton kept on playing their own game and they were rewarded right at the end of the first half as Wojciech Szczesny, returning after two games out injured, spilled a high cross into the path of Daniel Fox who simply couldn’t miss, ruining Arsenal’s clean sheet record.

 

Gervinho fires past Davis for his first goal

 

In the second half, the Gunners eased off a little and Southampton, having scored just before halftime, grew in confidence. The visitors were actually unfortunate not to reduce the deficit further with Lambert skewing his effort just wide from the edge of the box in the 56^th minute. Szczesny, having committed the error which led to the visitor’s goal, was also displaying poor kicking ability, skewing them straight back to Southampton on numerous occasions, causing consternation among the Arsenal faithful.

Yet any fears of an unlikely Southampton comeback were allayed by the 71^st minute as Aaron Ramsey sumptuously controlled a lofted ball and ran through on goal, poking the ball past the onrushing Davis; the ball rebounded off the post and into the path of Gervinho to poke home his second of the game. The Ivorian deserved this slice of luck for a truly impressive performance. I had my doubts about his ability to play upfront on his own, but his display on Saturday proved me wrong. His movement was first class and he was able to expertly exploit the space in behind the Southampton defence.

Gervinho salutes Ramsey's role in his second goal of the afternoon

 

In the last minute of the game, Theo Walcott put the cherry on the cake, smashing home from close range, but in respect to his previous employers, Walcott refused to celebrate. In fact at the end of the game both he and Oxlade-Chamberlain, who was a box of tricks on the right wing, ran to the away end to salute the Southampton supporters who had watched both Arsenal stars break into the Saints’ first team at such an early age.

In the post-match press conference, Arsene Wenger stated that he feels his side are now capable of mounting a championship challenge this season. While the comprehensive victory over Southampton will have greatly increased the confidence within the whole squad, the next two league games, away to Manchester City and at home to Chelsea will go a long way to proving Arsenal’s title credentials. There is certainly plenty of scope for great optimism as Abou Diaby, so imperious against Liverpool wasn’t even missed on Saturday and if you add to this the impending return to first team action of Frimpng, Wilshere and Rosicky, which will provide great options for Wenger, Arsenal suddenly appear to have a large and very strong squad. The most impressive aspect of the two recent victories however, is the developing fluidity and understanding between the attack and midfield as well as another strong defensive display, which certainly bodes well for the future.