Rusk's striker-less tactics can end Paul Onuachu's weird stat of a goal each in the last 4 months, should he fail to score against Arsenal.
Sad to say, but Southampton's 0-2 miserable defeat confirms Rusk's failure to spoil Everton's last Goodison party. Yet, though for the result, the way the manager responded to back his bold claim will worry the Saints fans more.
That's because, once again, Rusk went into the fixture without a proper striker upfront, compromising their scoring chances already.
Now, not to discredit, the manager's same defensive plan worked wonders against Man City the other day. But an unforeseen Jan Bednarek injury had the game over for Southampton even before the fixture kick-started at Goodison for one last time.
Like it or not, this Rusk strategy is doing Southampton significant harm, given that they plan to switch to a high-pressing system next season. Yet, while the damage done to the Saints can't be ignored, this playstyle is hurting Paul Onuachu the most.
Rusk's defensive approach puts Onuachu's critical stat in danger
Intriguingly, for the forward who scored his debut Saints goal this season, Onuachu's scoring has followed an eccentric trend. Going by it, all his 4 Premier League goals have come one each in the last 4 months.
Yet, that streak is now on line as Onuachu has seen rare game time, so far in May. And all for Simon Rusk's overly optimistic belief in his defensive game plan.
Well, harsh to admit, yet if that's to continue against Arsenal next, Onuachu's scoring trend could be over.
Pitifully, considering all the hardships he has gone through since Juric's departure, getting denied of an opportunity to see out this scoring stat would be the last thing on Onuachu's wishlist.
But what's frustrating? This seems a likely possibility given that Rusk might prefer to enter the final Arsenal game to avoid a humiliating season close.
At this point, Onuachu would want to use all his luck quotient to let Rusk start him in the last game. There's a week's time till Southampton hosts the Gunners in the ultimate matchday. Let's see what Simon Rusk's upcoming game plans are.