Arsenal Vs Southampton: 5 things we learned – Anyone know a defender?

Arsenal travelled to Southampton on Sunday afternoon, looking to extend their 22-game unbeaten run. Here are five things we learned from the 3-2 defeat.

Well, that was rubbish. Arsenal were hoping to continue their 22-game unbeaten run and keep pace with Spurs and Chelsea in the top-four race, but they put in yet another lapse display, this time costing them dear. Unai Emery tried to shift things up once again, but, this time, the hole was too big to dig themselves out of.

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Here are five things we learned from Sunday’s 3-2 loss to Southampton.

5. Depleted defence concerning

Arsenal entered this match with a slew of defensive injuries and suspensions. Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis would both miss out thanks to suspension, while Rob Holding had just torn his ACL against Manchester United and would miss the remainder of the year. Meanwhile, Sead Kolasinac picked up a thigh problem in training and Nacho Monreal and Laurent Koscielny only made their return to the first team from injury on Thursday.

And then, Hector Bellerin was forced off at half-time, Nacho Monreal went down in the second half, although he was able to continue, and Stephan Lichtsteiner was withdrawn with what looked like a knee problem. Granit Xhaka played centre-half for the full 90 minutes. Lichtsteiner played centre-back for 45 minutes. Laurent Koscielny was in the wars throughout. Unai Emery was forced to rush players back from injury and muddle together a makeshift backline.

The return of Mustafi and Sokratis will be important. But with the ever packed festive schedule looming, Arsenal’s depleted defensive options are concerning. Let’s hope that Bellerin and Kolasinac can recover quickly. If they cannot, Emery will be down to the bare bones once more, and that could be critical.