Arsenal: Better late than never for the “Fab Four,” right?

Arsenal weren’t at their best against Southampton, but their “Fab Four” was yet again the driving force behind the attack. Better late than never, right?

Arsenal‘s 2-0 win over Southampton was an odd affair. It might well have been 7-0, but if Southampton hadn’t come up against Bernd Leno, it might have been 2-2 as well. It wasn’t the best match we’ve seen all year, either defensively or offensively, but it was one of the better matches we’ve seen in the Premier League for creating chances.

And yet, it felt like two different matches, with half-time in between. In the first half, Alexandre Lacazette and Henrikh Mkhitaryan ran the show. they accounted for both goals and nearly combined for many more, if only the final ball hadn’t been so poor.

At the turn of the half, that changed. Mkhitaryan and Lacazette faded into the background, despite still being on the pitch. They were then replaced by the second half substitutions of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil.

The point of the Fab Four, by my estimation, was to create such an attacking force, that, let come what may, the Gunners would always have an answer to any lapse in form and any defense that stands up against them.

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Southampton was perhaps the first time that this has happened. One half of the “Fab Four” handled the first half to perfection and the other half of the “Fab Four” controlled the second, even if they weren’t able to put any goals in.

We got a taste of this against BATE Borisov, albeit without a suspended Lacazette. Still the three starters – Ozil, Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang were tremendous.

Against Southampton, like I said, more of the same, but in a different style.

We have a lot invested in these four players – not just wage wise, but talent wise. There is no reason why all of these immensely talented players can’t carry the attack, which is exactly what we saw happening against the Saints. They carried the attack. Granted, they had the help of a probing Alex Iwobi, and an insatiable Sead Kolasinac, and the backbone of Granit Xhaka, but all in all, it was the “Fab Four” that was primary drive.

We only have a few months more of this season, but I’d much rather this dynamic quartet show up now than not at all. It still remains to be seen how Emery approaches having to rely on so many older players, but that’s what this summer is for.