Capital One Cup defeat leaves no excuses for Arsenal

The Capital One Cup second round match between Arsenal and Southampton truly was a tail of two clubs.  Arsenal are in the hunt to push towards the top of the Premier League, have a difficult Champions League group, and may well push on again for more FA Cup success.  Southampton, on the back of their rebuilding program after their torrid summer, are desperate to prove themselves this season in the league and may look to push for a domestic cup under the guidance of Ronald Koeman; in other words, the side that needed to win, went on to win.

While Arsene Wenger and many supporters will bemoan the team selection on the day or the fact that we were ousted so soon in a cup competition, the truth of the matter is that Arsenal have bigger fish to fry.  Le Prof opted to give first-team debuts to David Ospina, Isaac Hayden and ring in the return of Abou Diaby for first team duties.  Hector Bellerin, Calum Chambers, Francis Coquelin, Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky, Lukas Podolski, Alexis Sanchez and Joel Campbell rounded out the starting XI; the attack and midfield were strong, but there were question to be asked at the back.

Nathaniel Cylen scored an absolute howitzer to put the Saints 2-1 up late in the first half; the goal would end up being the match winner (image courtesy of Southampton’s official Facebook page)

Southampton brought their best XI possible, with the exception of Ryan Bertrand being given a rest at the expense of highly rated youngster Matt Targett getting a run out.  At the end of 90-minutes, the match was settled via a Nathaniel Clyne blockbuster in the 40th minute, giving the Saints a 2-1 lead that would stand the full test.

Alexis Sanchez did continue his goal scoring ways for the club, putting Arsenal ahead inside fifteen minutes with a brilliant free-kick before Saints new boy Dusan Tadic calmly converted from the spot after Rosicky brought down fellow new coming Sadio Mane in the box.  Truth be told, it was a fantastic Southampton performance, one which showcased the type of overall team performance and strong counter-attacking play that see’s us undone more often than not.

Alexis Sanchez continues to show just why Wenger brought him in – his brilliant free-kick to open the scoring was his fourth goal in his last four appearances (image courtesy of Arsenal’s official Facebook page)

Should we have performed better? Absolutely, but the result see’s us having one less meal on the table for us to get distracted by.  With zero domestic cup commitments till the FA Cup begins, Arsenal can now go full bore in both the league and getting back on track in Europe.  More importantly, the fixture list is just that little bit less cluttered now, which means there is a decreased risk of players being over worked both physically and mentally and thus picking up injuries on the pitch or during training.

The encouraging fact that Diaby came through unscathed can be considered a microcosm of the current state of affairs.  With our lack of depth at the back, our penchant for drinking the injury juice and our habit of having competition ADHD, this was the best result possible.

Most importantly of all, and I am sure few if any will forget it, is that there can be no excuses now.  In the wake of our FA Cup success in May, we were promised that the club would strengthen and push on for bigger and better things this season.  While many will argue we did not strengthen completely (see: our lack of defensive depth), there is no reason why we cannot push on over the next couple of months and really lay down a marker in the league and in Europe.  After all, we’re suppose to be a massive club, so it’s certainly time to start acting like it.

At the end of the day, it’s rather fair to say that expectations surrounding the clubs performances this season will now be raised considerably.  If there ever was a proverbial microscope that both club and manager would have to operate under, it’s here, it’s now.  It truly is time put up or shut up at Arsenal, but while there really no telling what events will transpire, it is absolutely vital that we make the best of the opportunity we are now presented with.

Andrew Thompson is a contributing writer at We Are Hooligans, Outside Of The Boot and The Modern Gooner – follow him on Twitter @AFCBvB1410