When the line up was announced someone commented that Mauricio Pellegrino appeared to have picked the names out of a hat, but the gamble almost paid off, but didn't due to our failure to make changes in the final quarter of the match.

There was big surprises pre match when the team line up was announced, in came Stephens and Yoshida and out went Hoedt, perhaps dropping Pied after one game was not so much of a shock, but Hoedt, that error against Bournemouth aside has arguably been our best defender in the past few weeks.

Likewise the fact that Mario Lemina was also not in the starting line up also raised eyebrows, but what perhaps cost us all three points was not the fact that neither started the game, but that neither finished it and remained firmly on the bench for the entire 90 minutes especially Lemina !

Perhaps Mauricio Pellegrino felt that he needed to rest a few legs with three games coming up in only six days and a packed Xmas programme looming.

But the names in the starting line up changed, but the spirit didn't and the game could not have started better when Dusan Tadic played a sublime short ball for Charlie Austin to run onto and blast past Cech.

For 10 minutes Saints threatend to get a second but the offside flag and some stout rear guard action from Arsenal kept them out and the game soon fell into a pattern that it would maintain for the rest of the 90 minutes, that was of Saints getting behind the ball and going on the break, something which they continued to do till the final whistle.

This worked very well with every man on the pitch putting in a great performance and workrate to make sure that Arsenal despite their pressure actually created very little, althouh Fraser Forster had to pull off a magnificent save in the first half to keep his side level.

The second half started as the the first had ended, but as the half went on it was clear that Saints were tiring, they had run themselves into the ground and for the final half hour James Ward Prowse was virtually a right back with Jack Stephens being pulled across the middle and a hole needing to be plugged.

With 20 minutes left fresh legs were needed, Charlie Austin, not usually the man with the highest workrate had run himself to exhaustion, he has admitted himself that he struggled to get past this mark and this was a game where he had had to work harder than most of them.

At this time our attacks were confined to break aways and we had several, problem was that Charlie Austin was never going to outstrip the Arsenal defence from the half way line and that meant that a couple of promising situations did not bear fruit, no blame attached to the Saints striker he was just knackered to coin a phrase.

So the manager waiting till the 76th minute before making his frst change was strange, stranger was that as everyone prepared to rise to give Charlie Austin a standing ovation for his contribution, it was not his number that came up on the board but Nathan Redmond in what was basically a straight swap for Sofiane Boufal.

From then on Saints were pushed back and the sight of Mario Lemina warming up was heartening, he was just the man that was needed to get in amongst the Arsenal midfield and offer fresh legs as well as the ability to win the ball and use it.

But Lemina would continue to run up and down the touchline and Austin would not be removed to the 86th minute despite being a virtual passenger for the previous 10 minutes, he put in the work rate right up till he went off, but his tired legs needed replacing and for that matter Dusan Tadic had also run himself into the ground as well.

Tired legs make tired minds and tired minds make the wrong decisions and the failure of the manager to be pro active instead of reactive would cost us dearly, as the game entered its final minutes too many fouls were being given away, too many balls wasted, we were out on our feet with only the adrenalin keeping us going and we paid the price for that.

With Steven Davis stripped off and ready to come on Arsenal equalised, Giroud got in between Yoshida and Van Dijk to head home, i'm not going to apportion blame, but tired minds lack concentration and that cost us, before people see this as a dig at Yoshida for the record I thought that he had an excellent game, as did Jack Stephens.

So Davis first involvement was as Saints kicked off from the restart, in my opinion Mauricio Pellegrino had gambled and sat on his hands when it came to the changes needed and had lost, of course football is never a certain game, but if Davis or Lemina had come on five or ten minutes earlier then it would have given us a little more fizz in the centre of the midfield, it would have given us those fresh legs needed and that might just have meant that we held out, certainly Arsenal rarely threatened to score despite 70% possession in the second half and only slightly less in the first.

So I just cannot understand why Pellegrino dropped Hoedt and to a lesser extent Pied, this is no slur on either Yoshida or Stephens both of who put in great performances, only that dropping Hoedt makes no sense, we paid a lot of money for him, he has rarely put a foot wrong, yet he seems to be in and out of the team, this looked a game where we needed his pace, his ability to carry the ball and to pass it, I just cannot find any logic in the changes.

But more importantly it wasn't the team selection that cost us, but the failure to be pro active, to make the right substitutions at the right time, Arsene Wenger did so and got a point he should not have got, Mauricio Pellegrino seemed unable to see that at least two player were out on their feet for the final fifteen minutes and seemed content to hope that Saints could hold firm rather than to change things to improve their chances of doing so.

We should have seen Austin off after 70 minutes with Lemina on, perhaps pushing Nathan Redmond in a forward role to go on the break and chase down the Arsenal back four, instead they were allowed to build from the back and we waited for them virtually our own penalty box line.

We should have seen Gabbiadini on with at least ten minutes to go, this was his sort of game latching on to through balls, and I personally would have considered bringing on Hoedt, we were playing a virtual back five at this point, but Giroud as was shown was always going to offer an aerial threat, I would not have taken off Stephens of Yoshida for Hoedt, just rejigged the back four.

This felt like a defeat, but to end on a good note, this was a spirited perfromance where team selection aside no one has any right to point the finger at any player out there, they all gave great performances and their all, it was a great game to watch, no one can moan about not being entertained, the team spirit was there for all to see, the players earned this result, but it was one of those games where it is the manager that wns you the game through tactics, there were no tactics involved in this game, Saints just had to dig in and defend, when they looked to the manager he did nothing.

Photo: Action Images

Sanguin added 10:12 - Dec 11 We don’t know why Hoedt was dropped, he could have been recovering from a cold for all we know. I completely agree on late substitutions. Austin was looking exhausted towards the end of the first half and there was a point in the second half where he should’ve attacked the near post from a Bertrand cross but didn’t make the run and apologised afterwards. Tadic had a great game, but he started giving possession away cheaply and it was one of these instances that ultimately led to the equaliser. Late substitutions is my only criticism of this game. I feel like I finally enjoy watching Saints again, yesterday we looked likely to score every time we went forward and we defended well. It’s been like this for the past few games. I really can’t remember the last time watching Saints felt this satisfying. On a final note, I think Redmond had a good game and worked hard. There’s a guy sat behind me who likes to give him grief for everything he does; I thought it was funny when he started abusing him for narrowly missing towards the end of the game, but in fact it was Bertrand who shot and missed.

1

DorsetIan added 10:17 - Dec 11 I too was a bit bemused by the team selection but I thought Stephens was one of our best players and Holbjerb again put in an excellent performance. Pellegrino may not yet have found his 'best' starting 11 but by making sure that everyone is ready to play, he is creating competition for places which can only be improving individual performances. (It seems to be). I agree entirely about the subs. It was clear from very early on the second half that our chances were going to come on the counter attack and yet so many times we couldn't take advantage of possible breaks. I think a lot of this was, as you say, down to Austin not having the legs. I would have swapped Redmond and Austin for Boufel and Gabbiadini much earlier. Still all in all it was good point against a team who has been playing really well. Wednesday night's game promises to be a cracker.

7

IanRC added 10:20 - Dec 11 I agree, on the bright side a great team effort where few did much wrong. More food for thought for the JWP haters as he had another good game. Foster was down really quickly for Ramsey's shot and generally handled crosses well and Austin continued his impressive scoring ratio, just a shame we didn't get the second in that initial period of pressure. I have been very critical of Tadic in recent weeks but thought he played a blinder yesterday. I too was very surprised at starting lineup as Hoedt and Lemina really should be automatic selections unless he was saving them for Leicester or they have slight knocks. Long or Gabbi earlier would have been a good idea too. Felt like two points lost rather than a point gained but we should not lose sight of the progress made in terms of team spirit in recent weeks.

-2

Number_58 added 10:28 - Dec 11 Very entertaining game - such a turnaround from the Burnley debacle a few weeks ago. Austin's the difference for me; would Long have scored any of the goals that Charlie's put away? PEH was outstanding - did his incredible last ditch tackle early in the game even make the Match of the Day highlights last night?
2

SalisburySaint added 10:31 - Dec 11 disappointing to let in late equaliser, but level of preformances in the last 4 games since awful Liverppol performance have been of a level that most Saints fans would find satisfactory. Hopefully this will continue
6

SaintNick added 10:48 - Dec 11 This is a record, five posts in a row agreeing with me lol, have to say that I agree with most so far, so f we could see what the issues where why couldnt the manager, for the team selecton yes perhaps Hoedt and Lemina had knocks, but that is no excuse why Lemina at least was not brought on. If it was about resting players for Wednesday, surely better to play them against Arsenal where they would both be needed more and rest them for Wednesday, only reason i can think is that pellegrino had prioritised the Leicester game to put out his strongest side

1

TeamCortese added 10:52 - Dec 11 If you spoke to me a few weeks ago and told me we'd get a draw at home against Arsenal and be disappointed not to get the win I'd call you completely deluded. I think we should be happy with the point and move on. This is a very, very positive performance. I have no doubt if we play like that for the rest of the season we're a shoe-in for a top 8 finish. The players seem more galvanised and they are clearly playing for the manager. Unfortunately the stats don't lie. The fact is we've had two points from a possible nine. That is relegation form. The Leicester match is a must win!

3

saintmark1976 added 11:15 - Dec 11 Disappointed that we only got the one point and that we appear to have joined the ever expanding number of teams who waste time as a matter of tactics. Can't help but feel that this cost us points both yesterday and at Man City recently. Sitting back and inviting the opposition on to you is a risky option in my opinion. Perhaps I am wrong but am I the only one who thought that VVD was at fault for their goal? To me he appeared to be slow to react to the cross and certainly did not attack the ball.

1

arthurfane added 11:19 - Dec 11 Sanguin - "Austin was looking exhausted towards the end of the first half and there was a point in the second half where he should’ve attacked the near post from a Bertrand cross but didn’t make the run and apologised afterwards" - this was during the first half. Don't think it was because he was tired, simply not on the same wavelength at the time. Agree that Lemina could've been useful in this game. Hojbjerg, Stephens and Austin were excellent.

7

SaintNick added 11:33 - Dec 11 I have watched the goal a few times and I cant work out who to blame, Giroud got in between Yoshida and VVD, but I cant quite work out whether Yoshida should have been picking up Giroud, certainly he did not have another player to mark, or whether VVD was marking someone else and had to get across and try and make the header because he saw Yoshida out of position (assuming that Yoshida should have been marking Giroud) and could not get there in time. Certainly it was between the two of them

-1

SonicBoom added 12:00 - Dec 11 Maybe the manager was saving his best for Leicester as perhaps he does not want to lose the game to the guy he replaced.
4

Consigliere added 12:27 - Dec 11 Most of what has been said I would completely agree with, although I don't think it would be fair to either of the defenders to blame them for the Arsenal equaliser - it just was a very good goal and Giroud is extremely good at this sort of thing. If a mistake was made it was in not bringing off Tadic five minutes earlier as he was tiring and making mistakes and we needed to shore up the midfield with Davis or Lamina. That being said the manager probably had his reasons and one thing we can't complain about was the commitment and effort from all the team, leading to a very entertaining and enjoyable game. More of the same against a weaker team and we will be fine, though its pretty clear that we are heading for a mid-table finish.

10

skiptonsaint added 12:45 - Dec 11 Have enjoyed watching saints in the last four games and the ground felt a lot more positive all round and maybe that transmitted to the players. Not fussed of clappers either way but without them yesterday that seemedthe best atmosphere at st Mary's for some time. And all that singing at midday on a Sunday without a few pints for most ..well done the fans.
7

michaeljoycetf added 13:05 - Dec 11 There are some veiled criticisms of the manager which in the circumstances is a little unfair. Your verdict also omits to mention the terrific influence both Romeu and Holjberg had on the match. there were many positives to be taken from this performance, Its a shame that you tended to highlight the problems .Its time to put some trust in the manager and accept that he might be more capable than you give him credit for.

3

schatfield added 13:25 - Dec 11 Hojbjerg was a monster. There was one point when Arsenal were on the counter attack - at speed. He ran back and put in one of the best tackles to knock the ball out for a corner, any near mis-tackle there and it was a definite penalty. Immense. Felt like a loss when they equalised. Great game though.
9

SaintNick added 13:56 - Dec 11 Michaeljoyce, I have given cedit to the manager when it was due and yesterday I have called it as i saw it, the manager was not pro active he was reactive, I said the whole team played out of their skin, but sometimes managers have to make decisions that win or lose games, ours didn't sadly. However there were plenty of plus points thats why it was so disappointing to see all the hard work wasted at the death because changes needed to be made but werent

4

landerwal added 14:02 - Dec 11 The changes show that we have depth in the squad to be able to put on a very good defensive performance against any opposition no matter who is picked. However the problem still remains we only seem to be able to score at one goal a game. Had we taken our chances and got least a couple more, the Arsenal goal would have been a mere consolation, not a loss of two points. If we had scored those goals earlier the manager would not have had to bring on Boufal to try and get a second, but used Lemina to strengthen the defence for the last twenty minutes.

2

LordDZLucan added 14:10 - Dec 11 ‘Dropping Hoedt makes no sense, we paid a lot of money for him, he has rarely put a foot wrong’. Really?! I can give you 3 occasions where he has put a foot wrong without even thinking too hard. He gave Lukaku a free header when he scored against us; he was beaten out on the left-wing (what the **** was he doing out there?!) by Gross who then crossed for Murray to score in the Brighton game; and we all know what happened against Bournemouth. He is prone to those lapses of concentration you talk about, Nick. He has to cut those out before he can be considered to be a regular starter. Give me Yoshi every day of the week.

6

SaintNick added 14:19 - Dec 11 Lordlukan, at the risk of being accused of hating Yoshida, we know what we will get from him and it isnt going to be good enough in the long term. We have paid big money for Hoedt and he needs to get a regular game in the side to get some consistency then we can assess him
-5

LondonSaint added 15:03 - Dec 11 Very happy with the performance but the next step for Saints is not the odd good performance/win against the big teams (which we've historically done quite well), it's to be able to consistently beat teams around and below us to cement our position as "best of the rest". I'm waiting for Pellegrino to prove he has the nouse to pull this off.
2

SaintNick added 15:55 - Dec 11 I want Pellegrino to pull it off, I thought he was going in the ight direction in the past few games, but yesterday disappointed me, not just his team selection, but the way he sat and did nothing for so long
2

JimmyMeliaPhD added 16:04 - Dec 11 There's no question that pretty much everyone on the team played well in that one. Forster seems rehabilitated, and even Redmond was only half as bad as he usually is. But it's hard not feel SaintNick's disappointment---and I'd go further than his criticisms, because I think the biggest error was coming out for the second half and parking the bus. It seemed a risky thing to do against a team with all of Arsenal's attacking resources. And half-time seemed a very early time to do it, given that we'd put Arsenal under a lot of pressure and made a lot of chances and good moves in the first half. The gamble--and let's be clear, sitting on a 1-0 lead for 45 mins in the Premier is a HUGE gamble--didn't pay off and for me yesterday was clearly manager's error and most likely 2 points lost because of the change of tactics at half time. Since the Anfield debacle this team has shown that it can full-on attack effectively when it has permission, but this manager is essentially defensive-minded. That doesn't mean he's conservative; the opposite, it means he's a reckless gambler!

4

SaintNick added 16:58 - Dec 11 I dont think we went out to park the bus, just that Arsenal pushed us back and we were short on pace in the back four and with JWP on the right, so had to sit deep to make sure Arsenal didnt get in behind us
0

saintpp added 17:53 - Dec 11 Totally agree Nick its unbeleivable that he just sat there and did nothing this is very concerning and doesnt leave much hope for the future. He basically shut up shop for the second half and did that half heartedly with the wrong players..if your gonna defend then davis lemina or even hoedt should have been brought on the do the job properly,not knackered forward players. I like to see Boufal brought on but in this case it should have been Lemina and said it at the time. I think the Mps out of his depth to use a cliche.

1

BoondockSaint added 18:03 - Dec 11 I'll join the chorus of "If we had played this way from the start of the season, we would be in much better shape." Hopefully it continues. At least on the broadcast the "pundit" was outraged at Stephens' yellow for delay of game. He said Stephens wasn't even close to taking too long and it was a result of Wenger badgering the sideline official for the last 10 minutes. He'll probably get a letter to shut up from the league tomorrow.....that would be the pundit, certainly not Wenger!

7

Blogs 32 bloggers

Stevenage Polls