Revenge was served on the south coast as Arsenal came away from St. Mary’s Stadium with a 3-1 victory over the Southampton side that had defeated them just three days earlier in the FA Cup. It was a hectic start to the match as Alexandre Lacazette missed a wide-open breakaway 45 seconds in, only to see Southampton score on the other end minutes later from a beautifully designed corner kick routine. Arsenal settled in after that, however, and was dominant throughout the rest of the half. Nicolas Pepe equalized a mere four minutes after falling behind, and a beautifully taken goal by Bukayo Saka right before halftime gave the Gunners a deserved 2-1 lead at the break. Lacazette finished the scoring later on after more terrific work by Saka, and it is now five wins and a draw in six matches for the resurgent Arsenal side. Below are the player ratings from the match.
Player Ratings (1 – 10)
G – Bernd Leno – 7
Leno got a hand to Stuart Armstrong’s strike, but it wasn’t enough to keep it out. He made a few other terrific stops, however, and continues to be one of the better keepers the Premier League has to offer at the moment.
DF – Cedric – 7.5
Talk about a man taking his chance. Provided another start today, this time on the left with Kieran Tierney out, the Portuguese defender was brilliant yet again. Defensively strong and got forward well even though it was on his weaker side. He played an unbelievable cross-field pass to free Saka to set up the final goal. It will be hard to drop him going forward.
DF – Rob Holding – 8
A 100th career Arsenal appearance from the former Bolton man, and another immense display. He really is coming into his own this season as the surprise bedrock of the Arsenal defense. He was clearly the better of the two center backs today and marshaled the line brilliantly. Arsenal was smart to extend his deal.
DF – David Luiz- 5.5
This was an example of the error-prone Luiz we are at times accustomed to seeing. However, he was not punished for it this time around as Southampton let him off the hook numerous times. Turned the ball over in dangerous areas, got dragged out positionally, and even his distribution was a bit off at times. It might be time for Gabriel to get back into the Premier League eleven.
DF – Hector Bellerin – 6.5
Not a bad performance at all from Bellerin, but he was outshone by Cedric on the other side and must now be seriously concerned that his position is under threat. Kieran Tierney will be available Saturday against Man United, and one can’t help but wonder if Mikel Arteta will go with Cedric on the right instead of the stalwart Bellerin.
MF – Thomas Partey – 7.5
He is so fun to watch. Every time he is out there, I cannot help but wonder how Arsenal managed to pull off this signing ahead of other clubs with more financial power. He is already asserting himself as one of the better central players in the league, and his influence will only continue to grow with a consistent run in the side. Is there anything more beautiful than a Partey drop of the shoulder?
MF – Granit Xhaka – 8
Even the most ardent Xhaka hater must admit that he is a man transformed with Partey at his side. Having finally found the perfect partner, Xhaka has been terrific during this good run of form. Unbelievable vision and precision on the through ball to set up Pepe for the equalizer, and he continues to do his defensive duties well. Fair play to the Swiss international for completely bouncing back from last month’s red card.
MF – Emile Smith Rowe – 7
Another influential performance from Smith Rowe, who continues to prove that Arteta’s system will work with a creative midfielder who is willing to press and do the dirty work. His ball recovery rate is insane for a player in his position, and his constant energy is a boost to the entire team. He links up so well with Saka and always finds good areas to pick up the ball. Forced off late with an injury that hopefully isn’t too serious, but the arrival of Martin Odegaard will help ease the burden.
RW – Bukayo Saka – 9 (MOTM)
It is time to stop limiting Saka to just “the best teenager in the Premier League” and start talking about him as one of the better players in the league, period. Another goal, another assist, and another elite performance from the 19-year-old. It is incredible how large of a leap he has taken this season, and Arsenal must be overjoyed that they managed to secure a long term deal for him before the season. Southampton had no answer for him at all.
LW – Nicolas Pepe – 7.5
It feels as if we have said, “this is a huge opportunity for Nicolas Pepe” about 50 times over the last year or so, but today really was. Thankfully, Pepe made the most of it. Terrific run and finish to level the game after Arsenal were shell shocked by the early goal. He continued to show his textbook trickery on the ball and also tracked back and defended very well. It is far too soon to give up on the record signing, and matches like this one show that he can have a large part to play going forward.
ST – Alexandre Lacazette – 8
Lacazette continued his torrid form with another goal, bringing him to 10 in all competitions this season. He always works hard but was also impressive in the fact that he overcame a massive miss in the first minute that could have mentally debilitated a weaker player. He Never shied away, worked hard, and was rewarded with his goal.
Substitutes
MF – Willian – 6.5
He finally made some form of an actual impact right after coming on when he started the move that led to the third goal. Ideally, he can build on that a bit.
MF – Mohammed Elneny – N/A
Came on late for Partey in order to help see the game out.
MF – Joe WIllock – N/A
Came on in the last few minutes for Pepe but didn’t have a touch of the ball.
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