Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praises Southampton's resilience in 3-1 defeat
- Arsenal secure comeback 3-1 win at home against Southampton.
- Mikel Arteta praises Southampton's defensive resilience in the 3-1 defeat.
By Aakash Desai
Recently, Southampton faced their sixth Premier League defeat of the season with Arsenal taking a massive 3-1 win at the Emirates Stadium. While the Saints conceded three goals again, Russell Martin's side had the chance to take the three points from the match after taking a surprise 1-0 lead. Southampton put up a heroic defensive display in the first half with the centre-back partnership of Jan Bednarek, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Kyle Walker-Peters making a number of crucial blocks and interceptions to keep Arsenal from taking an early lead in the match.
Their defensive resilience was rewarded when Mateus Fernandes made a through ball into the path of Cameron Archer, who kept away his finishing struggles aside and attempted a well taken finish from the edge of the box to score his first Premier League goal for Southampton. But after that, the Saints made a few misplaced passes while defending and Bukayo Saka's masterclass performance helped Arsenal to register a comeback win against Russell Martin's side. Before the match, Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta was full of praise for Martin which was highlighted with Southampton's impressive performance around the hour mark in the match.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praises Southampton's resilience in 3-1 defeat
After Arsenal's win, Arteta highlighted Southampton's defensive efforts and applauded his former goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale as well as manager Russell Martin, saying,
"I wished Ramsdale all the best. I congratulated him for the way Southampton played. I hope they do well, especially for Aaron and the manager as well because they are a very good side."
- Mikel Arteta
Next. Cameron Archer gives the lead but Arsenal brilliant in 3-1 comeback win. Cameron Archer gives the lead but Arsenal brilliant in 3-1 comeback win. dark
While Southampton would have been disappointed not to take any point from this match but they gave a great response after conceding thrice in the first half against Bournemouth. Now, manager Russell Martin and the Saints need to reflect on their mistakes and their strengths and try to find a good lineup balance between the attack and defence for the upcoming matches after the international break. Moreover, Southampton should aim towards improving their goalscoring further to start taking important wins in the league season.
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