Southampton slip away in second half, losing 2-0 to Arsenal
By Chris Hughes
Southampton made it five games without a win after tonight’s performance, with some Alexis Sanchez magic sending Arsenal to victory.
Despite the fact that Arsenal hadn’t won in the league at St. Mary’s in as many as 14 years, Southampton fans didn’t go into their home clash with the Gunners in high spirits.
However the Saints started brightly with Petr Cech being forced into making two top-quality saves, something that came back to haunt the home side. Late in the half however former Southampton winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was forced off through injury.
In the second 45 a relatively quiet Mesut Ozil linked up with an equally dormant Alexis Sanchez, who produced a sublime piece of skill to free himself up in the box. The low strike that followed was relatively average, but still beat Fraser Forster.
With the Saints pushing for an equaliser late on Arsenal buried the fixture in the 83rd minute, with Aaron Ramsey this time the provider as Olivier Giroud headed home from close range.
The result means that this weekend if all possible results go against them then Southampton could slip as low as 15th, with eighth place West Brom now three points away. For Arsenal they leapfrog Manchester United to sit fifth, and are now just three points behind Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in fourth.
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The first 30 minutes was a back-and-forth affair, with both sides sharing decent attacks with little end product. The Saints looked more dangerous than they did at the weekend against Liverpool, with James Ward-Prowse, Cedric and Nathan Redmond all playing balls into the box in the opening exchanges.
Southampton would then have arguably their best chance of the game in the 31st minute, when a looping ball beat Arsenal’s offside trap to free up Dusan Tadic just inside the box. However he mis-controlled under the pressure and the ball fell to Manolo Gabbiadini, but the Italian’s shot was well saved by the experienced Petr Cech.
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In the second period Arsenal continued to dominate possession without any clear-cut changes, with substitute Hector Bellerin struggling to find the right ball into the mixer.
However on the hour the Gunners broke the deadlock with their first shot on target, thanks to some wonderful skill from Chilean Alexis Sanchez.
The former Barcelona man used a clever Cruyff turn-esque piece of skill to peel away from two Southampton players before firing home. The winger took his Premier League goal tally for the season to 20 with the effort.
Despite bringing on Sofiane Boufal, Shane Long and Jay Rodriguez within the space of 20 minutes, Southampton failed to threaten Petr Cech with the former producing the Saints’ best chance. The tricky winger found some space through quick feet on the edge of the box, but his shot ballooned wide.
Late in the game some more sublime build-up play allowed Olivier Giroud – who had come on for Danny Welbeck – to fire home with his head. It sealed the result with just under ten minutes to play.
FINAL SCORE: Southampton 0-2 Arsenal