Arsenal VS Southampton

Arsenal’s Premier League title chase continues at the Emirates Stadium as they take on out-of-sorts Southampton in their final league outing before October’s international break.

Arsenal needed two goals in second-half stoppages to see off Leicester City 4-2 last weekend and maintain their unbeaten Premier League start (W4, D2). Despite their undefeated record, the Gunners commence this round a point adrift of early pacesetters Liverpool, fresh off beating Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 in midweek Champions League action. Odds-on favorites to extend their near-flawless league start, Arsenal can draw inspiration from their outstanding home record against Southampton, with their last top-flight H2H home loss dating back to 1987 (W19, D9)! As if that’s not encouraging enough, Mikel Arteta’s men carry an intimidating 40-match unbeaten league run against promoted clubs at the Emirates (W35, D5). Another victory is seemingly on the cards, not least because no team from Europe’s traditional top-five leagues has kept more clean sheets than Arsenal’s 17 in 2024.

On the other hand, visiting Southampton slipped to a 3-1 defeat at Bournemouth last time out, intensifying pressure on promotion-winning manager Russell Martin. The Saints have claimed just one point in the opening six Premier League rounds (D1, L5), accounting for their joint-worst six-game start to a top-flight season. With only Wolverhampton below them at the beginning of this round, the visitors look destined for another disappointing result, staring down the barrel of a seventh consecutive top-flight defeat away from home. With six of the last seven seeing them concede at least three goals, damage limitation could be at the forefront of Southampton’s mind. Interestingly, they capitulated three times on their most recent visit to the Emirates but still held Arsenal to a draw in April 2023 (3-3).