Securing a spot in Wembley and completing the contract extensions of two key players, it’s been a pretty perfect week for Arsenal’s opponents.
So in that case, it’s up to the Gunners to come in and spoil the party at St. Mary’s on Saturday afternoon, and that’s exactly what Wenger plans to do.
During his pre-match press conference, the Arsenal boss ensured he would field a side that had real first team experience, with a few youngsters getting a shot on the bench.
And there was a triple injury boost ahead of this weekends, action, with Per Mertesacker and Mathieu Debuchy both returning to full training and Walcott back in the squad.
For Southampton, things haven’t been so easy on the sidelines, and last weeks 3-0 win over Leicester brought them another massive blow for the season.
Arsenal Team News
Things are starting to get better in the Gunners squad now, with just Cazorla the only long-term injury to deal with and is setting his sights on a return in March.
As we mentioned above, Mertesacker and Debuchy have both returned to full training with the rest of the team, with the latter expected to find a transfer in the coming days.
Theo Walcott gives Wenger’s options in attack a massive boost, and he’ll compete with Lucas and Iwobi to find his place back in the starting XI.
Mohamed Elneny remains unavailable as his Egypt continue to progress in the AFCON, whilst Granit Xhaka will begin the first of his four game suspension.
A lot of places are up for grabs in this side with so much competition, but Ospina, Gibbs and Bellerin are all certain to rotate into the side.
Arsenal Absentees: S. Cazorla, Y. Sanogo, M. Elneny, G. Xhaka
Predicted Line-Up (4-2-3-1): Ospina, Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Gibbs, Coquelin, Ramsey, Lucas, Iwobi, Welbeck, Alexis
Southampton Team News
Despite their long list of absentees, Southampton have managed to cope in all areas of the pitch with Claude Puel having faith in his youngsters rather than dipping into the market.
The biggest loss for the Saints is Virjil van Dijk, who will now sit out for up to three months after damaging his ankle, meaning Jack Stephens will step in to centre back.
At the other end of the field, Charlie Austin and Sofiane Boufal are the biggest names missing in the final third, limiting Puel’s options if things aren’t going how he imagined.
Recently appointed team captain Steven Davis has shaken off a problem and after completing 90 minutes in mid-week, will return to be the driving force in midfield.
Claude Puel has confirmed that Jay Rodriguez and James Ward-Prowse have failed to shake off injuries sustained in the week, which causes problems in attack.
Southampton Absentees: C. Austin, S. Boufal, Â J. Hesketh, A. McCarthy, J. Pied, J. Rodriguez, M. Targett, V. van Dijk, J. Ward-Prowse
Predicted Line-Up (4-3-3): Forster, Cedric, Stephens, Yoshida, Bertrand, Romeu, Clasie, Davis, Redmond, Tadic, Long
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