Sanchez Slots Home to Secure Win In Arsenal v Southampton

So Arsenal v Southampton at the Emirates today. Hands up if, at the start of the season, you thought Southampton would be above us in the EPL at this point of the season?… I didn’t think it would be many of you. So what happened when they met for the second time this season?

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First Half

The first part of the match was a decidedly touchy affair, with both teams sparring for position, something that makes a lot of sense considering that both teams thrive on exploiting space left by the other team. So with both teams looking to say ahead the first half went by without much fan fare.

Arsenal had the best of the chances and Welbeck could have, and probably should have, scored when his header was saved by Fraser Forster from a free-kick just before half time.

Second half

As the second half started Arsenal began to assert themselves more on the match and the pace of the game began to pick up. Santi Cazorla was the main proponent of this increased pace, however he seemed to suffer from classic Arsenal syndrome: doing well to create the opportunity and drive into space but failing to actually capitalise on any chance that he created.

The first real talking point in the game came just after 60 minutes, when Wenger took off Oxlade-Chamberlain to put Giroud on. Boos rang out as fans became frustrated with the lack of pace available on the side. However after this point Arsenal dominated the match, creating opportunity after opportunity.

Southampton repelled attack after attack, with some great saves coming from Fraser Forster and some stubborn defending frustrating the Arsenal team and fans alike.

Then, this season’s hero popped up with 2 minutes to go.

Chambers picked up the ball out on the right hand side of the pitch near the box and swung a bouncing ball into the penalty area. Giroud half-controlled the ball, tried to turn but the ball struck the Southampton defender on the thigh and then the arm, ricocheting the ball to Aaron Ramsey.

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The Welshman kept his head and picked out Sanchez in the middle of the box for the Chilean to clamly slot the ball home. The beauty of scoring this late is that the other team have almost no time to respond, and Arsenal made doubly sure of that by keeping on the attack, forcing Southampton to spend most the last 3 minutes in their own box.

There were claims for a penalty from one of the attacks, and one that could well have been given.

But Arsenal did not need the extra goal, and held on to secure a 1-0 win over Southampton, keeping up momentum for the Christmas run.

Southampton, however, are still yet to beat any of last-years top 7 clubs and seem to be faltering slightly.

Can Arsenal use this to push back into the top 4 before the end of the year?

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