The Saints will be looking for revenge against us for beating them in the FA Cup Final last season. They will also want to try and break our unbeaten record so they can be known as the only team that beat Arsenal in the first half of the season. Southampton are a very impressive team and their teamwork is basically like the attitude of their manager, who has the never die spirit. What I like about Southampton is their teamwork. They work very, very hard and their work rate is phenomenal. Against Manchester United this season when they beat them 1 – 0 at home, you couldn’t really give special praise to anyone as they all worked very hard for each other and deserved to win.
I still remember last season when we lost 3 – 2 and it really, really hurt me at the time. Bergkamp scored a wonderful volley in the first half. But Beattie equalised with a smashing free kick. Then Campbell got sent off, and then the game went down the drain. Beattie scored a penalty and Delgado scored a scrappy goal. Píres got a consolation goal towards the end.
Last week they beat Liverpool very impressively, and they could have scored more goals, but yesterday they lost to Fulham thanks to a brace from Saha, who is playing really well this season. They will want to get over that result asap and you can guarantee that Arsenal will get a very tough ride from them on Monday.
I remember Chelsea went up there this season and got all three points. Southampton played brilliantly through the whole game and Phillips missed a sitter, but the point is that even though Chelsea got outplayed they took all three points and this is what we may be required to do, if things are not going our way.
Below is a list of who I think are Southampton’s key men:
Beattie + Ormerod – Key Men 1
Niemi – Key Man 2
Pahars + Phillips – Key Men 3
Lundekvan + Svennson – Key Men 4
Fernandes + Prutton – Key Men 5
I know this will be a tough match and this is why I would play a bit of a different team like the one shown below:
Lehmann
Lauren Campbell Touré Cole
Ljungberg Vieira Edu Píres
Bergkamp Henry
The main reason I would put Touré in central defence instead of Beattie is because of last season Beattie totally ripped apart Cygan for pace as well as power and I bet you Touré could do a good job against Beattie and Ormerod. I would also put in Edu because he brings a new attacking style from central midfield when he plays and he calms the game down when he needs to. I think Wenger will go with:
Lehmann
Touré Campbell Cygan Cole
Ljungberg Vieira Gilberto Píres
Bergkamp Henry
This match will be very tough and the result of this game will prove how far we have come since we played them last season, and I want to wish the Gunners the best of luck.