Of the three most recent matches Arsenal have played at home, the UEFA Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain was surprisingly the most comfortable. Easy, even.
On the preceding Saturday, they went two goals up before half-time only to allow Leicester City back into the game by conceding twice, before securing the three points with two late injury time goals.
Yesterday, they fell behind by one to Southampton ten minutes into the second half, having dominated possession throughout the first. They managed to turn it around and win the match but Mikel Arteta and Arsenal fans, one imagines, would much prefer simpler, less stressful wins.
Of course, the team Arteta sent out was rather heavily rotated when compared to the previous two matches. In the absence of Ben White, Jurrien Timber, and Takehiro Tomiyasu , Thomas Partey deployed at right back. Jorginho took his place in midfield next to Declan Rice, and Raheem Sterling got his first Premier League start since joining from Chelsea. Gabriel Jesus started up front, replacing Leandro Trossard in the starting XI.
Arsenal Line-Up
Firxt-XI: Raya, Partey, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Jorginho, Rice, Saka, Sterling, Havertz, Jesus
Bench: Neto, Tomiyasu, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly, Merino, Nwaneri, Trossard, Martinelli, Butler-Oyedeji
Arsenal Come From Behind in Win at Home Against Southampton
The Gunners dominated possession throughout the first half but were unable to make it count, and created few clear-cut chances. Southampton sat behind the ball with all eleven players, content to soak up all the pressure.
The second half began much as the first had went until Sterling tarried on the ball, the Saints broke, and Cameron Archer found a delightful finish beyond David Raya at the far post, having cut inside from the left.
Kai Havertz Scores Again!
The goal from Southampton and the shock of falling behind finally jolted the Gunners into efficiency in front of goal. And it was Arsenal’s Starboy, Bukayo Saka, at the heart of it all again. He intercepted a loose pass with his right foot, laid it off to Kai Havertz with the left, and the German took it beautifully in his stride to shoot from the edge of the penalty box past a diving, despairing Aaron Ramsdale on his return to the Emirates.
The Starboy of Arsenal
With parity restored, Mikel Arteta wrung the changes to take control of the tie. Martinelli, Trossard, and Mikel Merino came on for Sterling, Jesus, and Jorginho respectively on the hour mark.
Seven minutes later, Saliba and Partey worked the ball out wide to Saka on the right, who drifted inside and delivered the most sumptuous of crosses to the far post. There, Gabriel Martinelli—having timed his run to perfection—met it on the volley to squeeze it past Ramsdale with a finish worthy of the cross, and gave Arsenal the lead.
Tomiyasu replaced Partey in the 84th minute for his first appearance of the season, and four minutes later, Arsenal made certain of the points.
Havertz, having tumbled to the ground in the center circle, somehow managed to poke the ball through to Trossard, who ran down the middle straight at Southampton’s defense. Two unfortunate touches from the Saints’ recovering defenders fed the ball to Saka, and the Starboy finished it first time off his weaker right foot into the far corner.
Reaction to the Result
Mikel Arteta spoke of the performance in his post-match press conference:
“First half I thought it was exceptional. The amount of dominance that we had in the areas that we played, the amount of situations and chances we created in open play and set pieces, our counter-press worked really well there. It's unbelievable that we didn’t score a goal.
Then we started the second half, we were a bit sloppy, especially in the first 5-10 minutes with the ball and then the game became a little more open. Then the chance they had, they scored the goal, and then again, we’ve thrown everything away that we did in the first half. It was a completely brand-new game in a really difficult context and the team reacted incredibly well with a lot of composure; big belief, very good clarity in what we had to do. The crowd were exceptional, the subs were exceptional and we managed to win again.”
Seventh Heaven for Arsenal
In the last 21 days, the Gunners have played seven matches during a hectic period, and have managed to come through undefeated.
“It’s been a really tough period since the last international break in terms of fixtures, the amount of injuries we had and teams we had to play,” said Mikel Arteta. “But the team shows an incredible capacity to adapt to various contexts. They are really willing, they really want this and I’m really happy where we are.
“This period required something else, something that we haven’t done in the past. For the amount of injuries and with the schedule we had to play, and we played certain moments with 10 men as well. It doesn’t matter, there’s no excuses. We adapted to that, we faced it and we went for it, and I love that character from the team.”
Kai Havertz became the first Arsenal player to score in seven successive home matches for the club since Robin van Persie—and the fifth overall, with Thierry Henry, Doug Lishman, and Ted Drake also accomplishing the feat. If he manages to find the back of the net again at the Emirates against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, he will equal the record jointly held by Lishman, Henry, and Jimmy Brain for scoring eight consecutive goals at home for Arsenal.
Bukayo Saka took his assist tally to seven in seven league matches this season, setting up both Havertz and Martinelli before getting on the score sheet himself.
After the Final Whistle
The result saw Arsenal extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 16 matches, going back to the 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich on 17th April.
They travel away to Bournemouth next, after the international break, on 19th October, before hosting Shakhtar Donetsk at the Emirates on the 22nd and Liverpool the following Sunday, 27th October.
Read more Arsenal news, transfer news and rumours...