I think you’ll agree with me that the last two weeks felt longer than our whole summer, with no transfer news to keep us going through the empty days of football.
Sure, we’ve had some international action to get stuck in to but with England playing just once during the break things have been pretty dull, as their last-minute winner vs. Slovakia proved.
But we shouldn’t worry, Arsenal are back at the Emirates and will welcome Southampton on Saturday afternoon as they aim to kick on from that 3-1 victory over Watford.
The Saints have had an equally shaky start to the season but some late transfer business from both clubs will see them both raring to go in search of all three points.
Claude Puel’s men are at the wrong end of the Premier League table after picking up just two points from their opening three games, so something needs to change and a win over the Gunners would get them back on track.
Team News
Arsenal
Arsene Wenger’s press conference revealed a mixed bag of news as his side prepare for a hectic fixture schedule which includes a trip to PSG on Tuesday night.
The bad news is that Aaron Ramsey won’t be available for at least a week of action after a minor setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury and Wenger won’t rush him back.
The better news is that Alex Iwobi is back in the squad after shaking off a thigh injury, he’ll be a welcome returner with Arsenal now having plenty of options on the flanks.
Both Alexis Sanchez and David Ospina returned from their World Cup qualifiers on Thursday night so Wenger must make a late decision on whether Alexis is ready to play.
Knowing the Chilean, he definitely will but Wenger is boosted by having his new signings of Mustafi and Lucas Perez to come in and fill some holes that have lacked quality.
Arsenal Absentees: P. Mertesacker (knee) D. Welbeck (knee) A. Ramsey (hamstring) C. Jenkinson (knee) Gabriel (ankle)
Southampton
Despite dropping out of the England squad due to a wrist injury, Fraser Forster will be available this weekend which will be a massive boost to their squad.
New signing Sofiane Boufal is lacking fitness and it looks as if this one will come too early for him, whilst Jeremy Pied will also be on the sidelines due to a knee injury.
In more positive news for Puel, his first-choice left-back Ryan Bertrand has stepped up his return to action and has a very good chance of starting the game, leaving the Saints with a strong defence.
Southampton Absentees: S. Boufal (fitness) F. Gardos (knee) J. Pied (knee)
One’s To Watch
Arsenal – Shkodran Mustafi
Probably the one we’re all waiting to cheer when his name comes up on the starting line-up, but we can 90% expect the £35million man to sit alongside Laurent Koscielny this weekend.
Wenger has already confirmed that both Mustafi and Lucas are settling in well to training and they must now be tested in a game situation, and what better way than a capacity crowd in London?
Think of this as a good way for Mustafi to integrate with his new teammates ahead of a tricky away trip to France in mid-week, where Champions League football gets underway.
His calmness on the ball should be something to look out for, but we all want to know what sort of player the 24-year-old will become when you put him in an Arsenal shirt.
Southampton – Fraser Forster
The Saints most definitely are not “marching in” at the moment and if they should thank anyone for their Europa League place it’s this man.
If you can remember the last time these sides met then you’ll recall the performance Forster put on to deny the Gunners time after time despite throwing everything at him.
That game finished 0-0 after the England goalkeepers heroics, but he’ll want to go one more this time around and grab all three points to take back on the long trip home.
With a new national boss in Sam Allardyce, this is now a fresh start for Forster to show what he can offer now that Joe Hart is a little bit more out of the picture whilst playing in Italy.
Likely Line-Ups
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Cech, Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Xhaka, Cazorla, Walcott, Ozil, Alexis, Giroud
Southampton (4-1-2-1-2) Forster, Cedric, Fonte, Van Dijk, Bertrand, Romeu, Davis, Hojbjerg, Tadic, Redmond, Long
Prediction: Arsenal 2 – 0 Southampton
Only the second time this season I’ve predicted a Gunners win but with Southampton’s start to the season Arsenal look the better side in every part of the pitch.
The Saints still haven’t replaced Saido Mane in that vital CAM role and with Nathan Redmond still developing as a striker they don’t have enough of a threat going forward.
Wenger’s side on the other hand have players in near enough every area that need to prove why they deserve to be a regular in this squad that is now full of competition and depth.
Mustafi now needs to show us why he’s worth £35m, Cazorla needs to stop Ramsey from swooping back and taking his place and Giroud needs a goal to fend off new boy Lucas Perez.
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