Arsenal vs Southampton: 4 Things We Learned From FA Cup Defeat

Arsenal put in a limp defence of their FA Cup title by falling to a 1-0 defeat to Southampton at St. Mary’s on Saturday.

Making an expected amount of changes to his side, Mikel Arteta opted to swap his entire front four on the south coast, whereas Ralph Hasenhuttl chose a near full strength side.

Southampton were by far the better side in the first half as their high pressing and energy gave the impression they had an extra player on the pitch. It took 24 minutes for the opener to come as Gabriel Magalhaes inadvertently directed Kyle Walker-Peters’ effort into his own net.

Poor decision making on the ball and some torrid deliveries saw Arsenal cause little threat, while general sloppiness, particularly at the back, resulted in unnecessary self-inflicted pressure.

Bringing on Thomas Partey and Bukayo Saka in the second half saw an improvement in performance, although it was not enough to find a route back into a game where the Saints didn’t need to be at their best.

4 things we learned from Arsenal’s 1-0 FA Cup fourth round defeat to Southampton

The players that Arteta opted to bring into his starting lineup on Saturday are now the undisputed second string. Three of the front four are nowhere near usurping the regular fixtures, as evidenced by some lacklustre displays.

Knowing that those he fielded are not as good as those who didn’t feature, or even travel, should he then have gone full strength? It’s an easy stick to beat the manager with but he can’t be playing Saka and Emile Smith Rowe from the start every week. The drop-off without them is frightening, but Arteta’s hands are tied.

Willian, Mohamed Elneny and Nicolas Pepe had to play. These are still members of the squad at the end of the day, whose futures, at least for now, are tied to the club. However, the case of wanting to see what they can produce inevitably results in seeing precisely why they don’t play.

It’s Arteta’s position to ask his fringe players for the best they have to offer. Them then failing to take that opportunity is their wrongdoing, not his. Play his best side twice in the same ground in three days and the potential knock-on effect could be even more damaging than a single defeat.

There is a squad for a reason. Fortunately, Arteta has come to the realisation that Willian is not Premier League grade anymore – he shoulders most of the blame for signing him in the first place – Pepe is too inconsistent (despite creating more chances than the entire side today combined) and Eddie Nketiah isn’t ruthless enough in front of goal. Equally, Elneny is so far off the standard required.

An important competition is now gone for Arsenal who have to ensure the regular starters stay fit to battle on two fronts.

Arsenal Need Martin Odegaard as Soon as Possible

From Smith Rowe to Willian. That is the state of depth in this side and the gulf in class when the 20-year-old doesn’t play is vast.

The case has been made that Arsenal don’t need another stop-gap body in creative midfield given Smith Rowe’s brilliance. Having seen Saturday’s outing it’s plainly obvious why this isn’t the case.

Of course, Arsenal are now out of the FA Cup thus there are less fixtures to deal with. That, however, does not alter the landscape drastically enough to put any Martin Odegaard-esque deal on hold, so the sooner he arrives the better.

Speaking after the match, Arteta addressed the rumours, as quoted by football.london.

"“I don’t know. Obviously we played today. Since last night I don’t have any news. Probably I will get a few phone calls today and see where we are with every deal.”"

Odegaard needs to be bedded into this team ASAP in order to get him up to speed with the system and ideas. The Europa League is around the corner and so too is a terrifying set of Premier League fixtures. His presence as someone with an eye for a pass and natural creativity on the ball will be an essential asset either later in games or in times of rotation. Arsenal must see this one through.

Brazilian Rustiness to be Buffed Out

Neither Gabriel looked sharp on Saturday. That also is not a concern.

Gabriel’s opening to the game set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. Shaky on the ball and caught flat-footed on a couple of occasions, that filtered through into the rest of his performance, including some poor deliveries down the line.

Having been Arsenal’s best defender, and arguably player, for the opening weeks of the season and then missing the next six matches through illness, inevitable signs of rustiness were unavoidable.

Being knocked of the FA Cup is gut-wrenching, not least since it provided an achievable route back into Europe. Now it’s done and dusted, what few positive aspects there are stem from both Brazilian’s earning some minutes on the pitch. Gabriel needed that run out as he will be essential for the rest of the season, while the equally rusty Gabriel Martinelli is getting back up to speed following a string of unfortunate knocks.

Mentally both are as ready as they ever look, with the forward harrying down the ball and making some exciting runs on the left flank, none of which were found. Indeed, Willian found the referee with a pass (1) more times than he found Martinelli (0) in the first half.

Rustiness throughout, but valuable minutes for the Gunners’ Gabriel’s.

Tired Southampton on Tuesday

All Premier League matches are of paramount importance to Arsenal until the end of the season, and heading back to a stadium that has not been a happy hunting ground in recent years on Tuesday, Southampton are now there for the taking.

Hasenhuttl fielded a side as strong as he could have on Saturday, with all bar the goalkeeper expected to take to the pitch once more on Tuesday. Arsenal, by contrast, have Kieran Tierney and Smith Rowe to come back in without playing a single minute, Partey’s help with build-up phases from the start, Alexandre Lacazette to add bite in attack and Saka to keep the Saints’ defence occupied.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is an uncertainty.

That freshness puts Arteta’s side in good stead to claim three points against a side who’ve won just one of their last six Premier League encounters.

Nothing is a given as far as Arsenal are concerned. If you’re in search of reassurance though, that comes as a bonus, regardless of how meagre it may be.

Even with fatigue, Southampton can play better than they did. They didn’t need to be at their best to win on Saturday. Yet with upgrades in positions across the pitch for Arsenal in round two, they will show more fight and will play better. They have to.