Saints march on with a comprehensive victory over an Arsenal side that looked lacking in discipline and enthusiasm.

This was one of those satisfying victories when you know that every member of your team has put in 100% effort and got what they deserved and in this case it was 3 points for Southampton Football Club.

The 2-0 scoreline doe not tell the whole story though, although Saints could have won the game in the end by 4 or even 5, Arsenal could just have easily won the game had it not been for the resolute defending and the top knotch goalkeeping from Fraser Forster when the defence was breached. But that is what winning football matches is all about, it is a team effort and sometimes it is about keeping it tight at the back and taking your chances.

The opening goal is a contender for goal of the season from several angles, firstly for the way Sadio Mane chased what appeared to be a lost cause and got in ahead of the goalkeeper and defender, his mere pace and presence caused panic when really it should have been dealt with, then with seemingly no angle and no support, Mane curled in a sublime shot where he used the wind to take it into the goal.

Szczesny is being blamed for the goal and there is no doubt he was caught in two minds, but to blame him would be to take away what mane contributed to putting him in that position, what looked routine suddenly became a crisis due to the Saints striker.

From then on Saints looked solid and full of confidence throughout the game, as I have said there were moments when Arsenal could have got back in it, but it would not be a game of football if there weren't chances at both ends.

Again top marks to Ronald Koeman for not only selecting the right side for the occasion but making changes at the right times. Florin Gardos was superb and looked like we might just have a decent defender on our hands and Koeman knew just the right time to bring him off and put on Yoshida with 20 minutes left to combat an Arsenal attack that although lacking confidence only needed a goal to perhaps restore it and make it a tense ending.

But Gardos was not alone in his performance and there wasn't one Saints player out of the 14 who featured who didn't do his job and do it well, it is even more astounding when you consider that we had Schneiderlin, Clyne & Cork missing not to mention Rodriguez, if we can beat the likes of Arsenal without them and add our new signing Eljero Elia then we could spring even more surprises in the final quarter of the season.

But back to New Years Day and this superb victory, I said before we had to beat one of the so called top clubs and we did this with style, once Dusan Tadic poked in the second there was no way Saints were going to let things go, indeed it could have been 3 or 4 with several chances squanderd, not least Pelle who didnt have the luck, hitting the post in each half as well as a chance cleared off the line when he should really have scored with Arsenal in disarray, but although Pelle was not as sharp in front of goal as usual, the fact that he got those chances to start with and his general link up play meant that he played a big part in this victory.

We start 2015 now with an advantage in the chase for fourth, all of our rivals in the chasing pack bar Spurs dropped points so overall it was a good day in terms of League position and we can take a break for the FA Cup knowing that we took giant strides not just in terms of league position but as a side overall, people forget this side has only been together five months and is still learning, it passed a few more tests against the Gunners.

Photo: Action Images

corkcitysaint added 10:52 - Jan 2 Let's hope it's not ruled as an own goal. That would be a sickener for Mane.
0

arthurfane added 10:56 - Jan 2 Delighted with this result - every player played out of their skin. Forster particularly impressed me; he's made me nervous with his indecisiveness at times this season, but was truly excellent yesterday. Davies continues to do his unheralded job fantastically well, and JWP just needs to improve his finishing to develop into a World Class player. Just a note on Gardos - well managed by Koeman, introducing the height of Gardos (over Yoshida) do limit Sanchez' potency (almost every cross into the box was cleared away by the taller Saints defence...) but also, although he played well, it's worth noting that (in my opinion...) Florin should have been sent off. This was a good break, and one which could have influenced the course of the game. Still, taking nothing away from Saints who had chances aplenty to make the scoreline embarrassing for Arsenal yesterday! COYR

1

A1079 added 11:45 - Jan 2 Good report and the result was very pleasing. It showed that with key players missing we have some depth, a good team ethic and a manager who can seemingly respond positively to players being out for various reasons or change tactics to respond to the opposition. Arthurfane - good comments and nicely balanced. I know the league is priority but I hope we take the FA cup seriously. I still think a cup is our best chance of some silverware.

1

bstokesaint added 12:21 - Jan 2 It is interesting that the players, who in my opinion, had the biggest stinkers up at Sheffield, produced the best performances yesterday; Mane looks a completely transformed player these past few games and deserves all the plaudits after some of the stick he has received; Forster gave a much more assured display with some great stops and Gardos defended resolutely, although as others have stated was lucky to stay on the pitch, unlike at Sheffield. I was initially worried about cover in defence, but am far less concerned heading into the window. We definitely need a top striker though. There is currently far too much expectation on Pelle's shoulders.

1

FrankSaint added 12:25 - Jan 2 Living within shouting distance of the Emirates Stadium this result is always one to savour. Just a suggestion. As it is New Year how about sharing our favourite Saints quotes from 2014? My favourite was by a fan on here or on a Daily Echo comment and it was about Nicola Cortese soon after he left. After all he deserves a mention. It was 'He may be a bast**d, but he is our bast**d' I reckon he can live with that tribute :-) Anyone else?

1

BoondockSaint added 13:48 - Jan 2 Whoever lit the fire under Mane, keep feeding the furnace!! Big Vic was the man of the the match-even the commentator mentioned "He looks like a man playing against boys". He just shut down any attempt to come up the middle-but this has been Arsenal for the last few years: no strength down the middle. Next match, have Vic on Rooney, keep him quiet and stop him from feeding Van Persie. If we can beat Arsenal without him, does this mean we're going to sell Morgan? FrankSaint, I don't have a memorable Saints quote, but my favourite football one was someone on Twitter said: "Nude pictures of Jennifer Lawrence available on the net? And Falcao signs for Man United? Somewhere in Manchester there's a lad with a lamp and one wish left!"

0

WestSussexSaint added 19:10 - Jan 2 Great performance by the team and especially by Big Vic who gets better every time I see him. I was worried about Spider-Man not being eligible but Victor ran the show in midfield and his bit of skill in the first half was worthy of anything the Aresnal forwards could produce. I do however remain unconvinced by Gardos. Yes he cut out the crosses with his height but he looked unconvincing when the attackers was running at him. He was also regularly being reminded by Fonte as to where he should be positioned. It may have been a different story if Arsenal had played two up front or Giroud or Welbeck who are better in the air. Quick mentioned for Harrison Reed who never gave the Aresnal players a moments peace and several times put his body in to challenges that hurt. Well done young man!

1

zonehead added 19:42 - Jan 2 Could the upturn in Marne`s form be due to the dutch winger we have just signed?
1

TeamCortese added 20:27 - Jan 2 Great article Nick. I for one am elated with this result. The truth is, and I might be cocky here, I always expected us to get a result against Arsenal. And the reason is because we had the belief from the Chelsea match. There was an air of confidence about the Saints players even before the kick off. I genuinely think we have a really big shout for top 4 this season. This could really be our year for entering the European elite. It's all dependent on the January transfer window. COYS!

0

Winchsaint added 23:03 - Jan 2 Nothing I write could put it as well as this Arsenal fan on the Guardian's comments section below the match report: "Can't believe it. We pinch some of their best players and they still play us off the park! I always thought that Southampton would be the team that we see every year that starts well and then fades away after Christmas. Looks like I'll have to eat my words."

0

SingaporeSaint added 11:03 - Jan 3 Superb win. Wanyama is particular was the star as he dominated arsenal and showed exactly what a midfield player is about. Bertrand was great too as was alderweireld and a great save from Forster. The negative is a don't want to see a super deluxe finish like that from pelle again when he could have walked it in - that is not the southampton way (brilliant documentary btw) Credit to Koeman too for taking the heat out of the gardos situation and bringing on yoshida. When we have clyne, schneiderlin, cork and j Rod we may be dangerous! Bring on United.

0

10i added 13:46 - Jan 3 Westsussex did mention it: I'm not of the same opinion regarding the Performance of Gardos. Of course he won the headers as Arsenal had to Play Sanchez upfront and that isn't exactly hi strength. But he has Problems in positioning, when Players run a thim, or worse run behind him. Fonte did a great Job keeping this to a Minimum this game. I wouldn't call a Performance "superb" of a Player that couls/should have been redcarded and gave away a good free kick (not far from a Penalty and I doubt he would hav acted differentely if it had been inside). I wonder what I would read about Yoshida if he made a run like Gardos over 50m not knowing what to do with the ball, losing it and giving a great Chance for Counter attack. Btw I think Alderweireld has to Play as CD - as RB he gave away two great chances with wrong positioning (weak shot by Cazorla that was held at 0-0 and an outstanding save from Forster in the second half), something I've never seen happen to him before... Of course you are right with all the rest, it was great game! Pelle has to score that one (I wonder why he did take the shot that badly and afterwards he dind't even seemed to be unhappy with himself). JWP too had to score twice - he really needs to add this dimension to his game... Wanyama and Davis to mention with an extra-plus... Great result, top game and a lot to smile about when the new year started...

0

SaintGerard added 19:09 - Jan 3 A great team performance. Mane: He has been a revelation since RK started playing him on the right. Gardos: It's early days and he will need time to learn the way the football it played in the Premiership. Everyone use to go on (and still do) about Yoshido but he has and still is finding his way; like Gardos and many others in this Saints team, very few have played in this league. If they're playing this well right now, the future is indeed bright. Forster: Yes he's not the finished article but he's not far off and he's one of the best English GKs in the league. He will only get better. Victor: Immense in every way and MS was not missed which is the way it should be especially if he goes to the Emirates eventually. Actually I believe MS was the missing player Arsenal needed. Pelle: Has got to put it about more and stop going down or complaining every time the ref turns a blind eye. Should play to the whistle. Sometimes when he leads the line, tends to have a moan at at one of the others for doing what he does. Understanding still needs to bed in. Really enjoying this season and if we can do Man U in their own back garden we will have arrived in the big time. Also we have to do the same to Liverpool and Spurs. These are early days for this team but so exciting too.

0

Blogs 31 bloggers

Barnsley Polls