Southampton vs Arsenal: 4 huge selection decisions

Arsenal are looking to avoid a first under Mikel Arteta as they travel to St Mary’s on Saturday to take on Southampton in the Premier League. Never before during his tenure have the club lost three games consecutively in all competitions.

It’s interesting how draws aren’t even factored in. This Gunners side have played 30 matches this season yet have shared the points on only three occasions. That’s just 10% of their matches.

On this occasion, like with almost all that are to come, a solitary point will not suffice.

Trailing Tottenham by three points and a 10-goal difference, albeit with one game in hand, facing sides in such dire form as Southampton means there can be no excuses not to claim all the spoils.

Southampton vs Arsenal: 4 huge selection decisions for Mikel Arteta with left-back, midfield, and striker all up for debate in Premier League clash

Between now and the final eight games of the campaign there is no margin for error. Spurs have found their Premier League rhythm under Antonio Conte at precisely the time Arsenal have lost theirs. Injuries to three key players have risked derailing the season, as if they hadn’t already.

How Mikel Arteta deals with the cards he’s been dealt has been the topic of debate ever since his first attempt against Brighton fell flat on its face. His setup and the manner with which he sought to remedy his errors saw him earn deserved criticism. He has to learn, and in some areas he just isn’t.

Will he persist with the same formula on the south coast? From having a starting lineup that picked itself not too long ago, now there is plenty of scope for change, with four big selection calls in particular for him to make.

1. Granit Xhaka or Nuno Tavares at Left-Back?

This is the main one.

There is not an Arsenal fan in sight – or at least none who has spoken up – who wants to see Granit Xhaka deployed at left-back again.

If Partey were fit then there is greater understanding to the manager’s thinking, but without the Ghanaian and just an inexperienced Sambi, who has barely played in 2022 and is in his development year, it beggars belief.

We can try to seek comfort in the idea of deep ball progression but it’s a decision that detracts more than it adds. There is a knock-on effect across the team when the Swiss moves to left-back, that which destabilises the system and imbalances the connections across the pitch.

Nuno Tavares is far from perfect. It’s not like playing him will solve the issue. But what it would do is allow the team to maintain a closer resemblance to the formula that had produced some of the best football seen by an Arsenal side in years. Why throw that out?

Looking into it further, he could even move to a back three, bring Rob Holding into defence and have White and Gabriel either side. This would allow Nuno to operate as a wing-back and impact the game in more advanced areas, but is that also too drastic of a change?

Prediction: Xhaka will play left-back (sigh)

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