A streak of five wins to open, a current record with eight wins in a row, only one loss all season in the Old Trafford derby against Manchester United. For some seasons, especially with the departure of Arsène Wenger after more than two decades in charge, Arsenal was that team that he invested in, that he promised but kept failing when the ball started rolling. This is how, for example, last season they failed to access the Champions League in the final rounds. Now, in 2022/23, everything seemed to have changed. And the game with Southampton, after the well-known results of the day, could strengthen that position against the points lost by some direct opponents.
After another defeat for Liverpool, this time against last-placed Nottingham Forest, which further deepened the convulsive period of Jürgen Klopp’s team, the tie between Chelsea and Manchester United achieved with a goal from Casemiro in added time and the direct duel between Tottenham and Newcastle. that would always result in at least one losing points, Arsenal could reach 30 points in 11 games, four more than Manchester City and ten more than the last place in the Champions League, in a strong signal to the competition that this was not just any season. And it was for this purpose that the gunners arrived at st. Mary’s Stadium before another round of the Europa League.
“We are going to have to rotate the team a bit, but we cannot rotate 11 players every three days. It would be crazy and we don’t have enough players for that. We’ve had 15 to 16 players in the last four or five weeks, so the players will have to play. If we want robust players, it has to be that way from the beginning of their careers. Results so far? It has been a positive season. The percentage of victories has been very high, The team is playing very well and we are in the position we wanted. Are we the best for being ahead? We are there now but the season is very, very long and in the end we want to earn that place”, said Mikel Arteta.
From words to deeds, Arsenal’s entrance showed well the moment the team is going through: a path towards the opposite goal, threats from Gabriel Jesus and Martinelli, the initial goal in a great encircling play on the right with Saka going to the center of white ben and Granit Xhaqa appearing in the box to score on the pass (11′). Even so, Southampton tried to respond until the break, almost always from set pieces but without great situations against a Mikel Arteta team that managed in the best way in possession without neglecting the second goal attempt that closed the match.
That opportunity reappeared in the second half, with Gabriel Jesus escaping into the area before firing a corner kick at a defender. However the Saints As he grew up, he played more in the opposing midfield and, above all, he gave up the idea that he could get back into the game. The idea and the certainty: In a great transition start that started on the left side, crossed the ball to the right side and had the break down the middle, Stuart Armstrong did well on the diagonal to finish off a cross in the area for the equalizer. (65′). Fábio Vieira was still one of the options launched by Arteta but the 1-1 would no longer be undone and it was Manchester City that took the opportunity to stay just two points away.
Source: Observadora
