Arsenal vs Southampton: Player ratings, reaction and analysis as Arteta’s side win big without Aubameyang
Arsenal 3-0 Southampton (Lacazette 21′, Odegaard 27′, Gabriel Magalhaes, 62′)
Goals from Alexandre Lacazette, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Magalhaes ensured that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s absence was not felt as Arsenal enjoyed a dominant win against Southampton at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta confirmed before the game that Aubameyang had been omitted from his 18-man squad due to an unspecified “disciplinary breach” which will further fuel speculation over the Arsenal’s captain future. On the evidence of this performance, and indeed the past 18-months, the 32-year-old might not be too sorely missed if he does end up moving elsewhere next month.
If Arteta had expected a quick start from his side following Monday’s lacklustre defeat at Goodison Park, he witnessed anything but as Southampton began in the ascendancy. Aaron Ramsdale was forced into three saves in the opening 13 minutes from Nathan Tella, Adam Armstrong and James Ward-Prowse, while Gabriel Magalhaes earned himself an early caution for a cynical slide challenge on Armando Broja.
Ralph Hasenhuttl has seen this movie countless times before, though. Southampton’s inability to capitalise on their chances was punished when, with their first meaningful attack of the game, Arsenal opened the scoring through their stand-in skipper, Lacazette. It was a fine goal too that started with Ramsdale playing the ball out under considerable pressure and ended with Lacazette thumping an emphatic first-time finish into the top corner after a strong run from Bukayo Saka.
Just six minutes later, Arsenal doubled their lead. Given the speed and precision with which Arsenal flooded forward for the first, there wasn’t a huge amount that Southampton’s defenders could have done to prevent it; that was certainly not the case for the second. Kieran Tierney was given three attempts to get the ball into the box, eventually succeeding with a loopy header that found an unmarked Odegaard lurking in the six-yard-box to nod past the 40-year-old debutant Willy Caballero.
Caballero, who was released by Chelsea at the end of last season, had been training with League One side AFC Wimbledon to maintain his sharpness, prior to answering Southampton’s SOS call after Alex McCarthy joined Fraser Forster in the treatment room. The veteran made a good save to deny Saka just before half-time.
Arsenal had the ball in the net for a third time just before the hour mark when Gabriel bundled in from a yard out after an inswinging corner, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside. Southampton failed to heed that warning, though, as less than five minutes later Gabriel beat Caballero to Gabriel Martinelli’s corner to make it 3-0.
Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Ramsdale 9
Tomiyasu 7
White 7
Gabriel 8
Tierney 7
Partey 7
Xhaka 7
Saka 8
Odegaard 8
Martinelli 8
Lacazette 7
Subs:
Holding 6
Lokonga 6
Pepe 6
Southampton (4-2-2-2)
Caballero 6
Livramento 6
Stephens 5
Bednarek 5
Walker-Peters 5
Ward-Prowse 6
Diallo 5
Redmond 6
Tella 5
Broja 5
A. Armstrong 4
Subs:
Elyounoussi 5
Lyanco 6
Martinelli, the obvious winner from Aubameyang’s self-imposed exclusion, came inches away from scoring himself moments later when his curling effort on the edge of the box smacked the base of the post. From the resulting corner, Caballero had to spring low to his left to keep out Takehiro Tomiyasu’s header, before Saka rattled the post as Arsenal laid siege on their visitors’ goal.
Analysis: Ramsdale enhances England No 1 claims
Ramsdale was excellent during Arsenal’s win against Southampton (Photo: Reuters)
Arsenal were thoroughly deserving of their victory and each of their four attackers – Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and Alexandre Lacazette – were directly involved in a goal apiece.
And yet, despite their overall dominance, there was still a case to be made for the goalkeeper to be given the man of the match award. Arsenal had Aaron Ramsdale to thank for keeping Southampton out in the early stages when he made numerous important interventions and again for ensuring a comfortable end to the game when he was kept busy once more.
Ramsdale made six saves in total, a few of them fantastic ones to make sure of another clean sheet. The 23-year-old isn’t purely a shot-stopper, though. His composure under pressure and decision to play the ball to a teammate rather than lump it upfield culminated in Lacazette’s opener. And later on in the first half, he set Martinelli racing through on goal with an Ederson-esque kick from his own box.
Ramsdale’s name was the one belted out most frequently and vociferously by the home fans, a sign of his popularity in this part of the capital.
With Jordan Pickford and Nick Pope struggling for top form and Dean Henderson for game time, the case for Ramsdale becoming England’s first-choice goalkeeper is growing with each passing week.
A Southampton flurry towards the end enabled Ramsdale to add to his growing highlight reel and enhance his England chances with impressive saves from Nathan Redmond and Tella to earn his seventh clean sheet of the campaign.
Arteta: Aubameyang dropped due to ‘disciplinary breach’
The headline news beforehand was Aubameyang’s absence from not only the starting XI but Arteta’s 18-man squad after being named as a substitute during Monday’s 2-1 defeat to Everton.
The Athletic subsequently reported that Aubameyang had returned later than agreed after being granted permission to travel abroad to deal with a personal matter, putting Arsenal’s Covid-19 protocols in jeopardy.
Déjà vu for Arsenal and Aubameyang ????
Aubameyang dropped today for a "disciplinary issue" and it's not the first time…
When asked why his captain had been left out, Arteta responded: “A disciplinary breach. I think we’ve been very consistent that there are non-negotiables on the team that we have set ourselves and as a club and he’s not involved today.
“It starts today. Certainly, it’s not an easy situation or one that we want our club captain to be in that situation.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3oKxbtU
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