Southampton 1-3 Arsenal Match Report and All you need to know

Arsenal have continued their wonderful form in the Premier League by picking up three points in their game against Southampton away from home and this will now see them leave the bottom half of the Premier League table after spending there many weeks. The gunners beat Southampton 3-1 thanks to goals from Nicolas Pepe, Bukayo Saka and Alexandre Lacazette.

Arsenal came into this match with more confidence than they had at the weekend when they lost to The Saints in the FA Cup as they had this time used their first starting eleven but they were however once again stunned by the home side as it scored in the 3rd minute thanks to a brilliant half volley from Armstrong. The gunners however didn’t take a long to respond as they scored in the eighth minute after Xhaka got the ball near Southampton’s penalty boss and slid the ball to Nicolas Pepe who equalised for the North Londoners.

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 26: Nicolas Pepe celebrates scoring the 1st Arsenal goa during the Premier League match between Southampton and Arsenal at St Mary’s Stadium on January 26, 2021 in Southampton, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

The goal by Nicolas Pepe completely changed the dynamics of the game as Arsenal got more confident in their attacks and Southampton failed to settle down after conceding as they cheaply kept giving away the ball. A goal kick by Bernd Leno saw two players from both sides contesting for the ball until it landed near Lacazette who quickly sent a through ball to Bukayo Saka who rounded the on rushing goalkeeper before putting the ball into the back of the net to make it 2-1 in favour of Arsenal. The entertaining first half ended 2-1 in favour of Arsenal.

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 26: Bukayo Saka celebrates scoring the 2nd Arsenal goal during the Premier League match between Southampton and Arsenal at St Mary’s Stadium on January 26, 2021 in Southampton, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Southampton started off pretty strong in the second half as they searched for an equaliser and created some chances but they were however not able to break Arsenal’s defence in the first 25 minutes of the second half despite the gunners letting them have most of the possession.

Arsenal then punished The Saints in the 72nd minute as Cedric switched play with a long ball to Bukayo Saka who then crossed the ball into the penalty box and Lacazette finished it off to make it 3-1 in favour of Arsenal.

The match ended 3-1 in favour of Arsenal and Mikel Arteta will be pleased with the performance of his team as this was an important win ahead of their upcoming big match against Manchester United.