Arsenal could barely have wished for an easier Europa League campaign. Qualified with two games to spare, top of the group with one in hand and finishing things off in considerable style thanks to a 6-0 drubbing of BATE Borisov on Thursday night. All conducted with the minimum of fuss and without recourse to Arsene Wenger’s biggest names.
The only problem is that it may have been too easy.
As an exercise in giving first-team football to young talents and fringe players, it has been an unparalleled success. Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott have boosted their goal tallies, Ainsley Maitland-Niles is getting exposure and invaluable experience and Jack Wilshere has charted his return to form with a series of impressive performances, culminating in arguably his best of the season vs. BATE.
A first goal in two-and-a-half years certainly helped and Wenger was delighted with his performance, speaking of “the most mature Wilshere I have seen, in the game and outside the game.”
The manager then added, somewhat intriguingly, “You will see more of him… He will get games, he will get the opportunity to show that Jack Wilshere is back.”
But was the man-of-the-match performance enough of a prod for Wenger? The opposition were an abject mess, after all. It’s the nature of the Europa League, but the standard of football in Arsenal’s group was a few levels below the Premier League. It is hard to make a truly convincing case.
Granit Xhaka has been struggling but, ahead of the weekend trip to Southampton, is dominating BATE the kind of supporting evidence that will be enough for Wilshere to unseat him, or get a spot further forward?
Wenger switched to a back four on Thursday, having ditched 3-4-3 after Shkodran Mustafi’s injury in the first half of the 3-1 loss to Manchester United. If the 4-2-3-1 remains intact it allows for an extra body in the final third and that could be Wilshere, possibly as a No. 10 with Mesut Ozil pushing wide. But it would be a big move to abandon a now well-established formation.
Ultimately, you suspect Wenger will stick to what he knows. After all, the identity of Arsenal’s other best player against BATE suggests that Europa League excellence may not translate to Premier League competence.
Theo Walcott also impressed. He scored, claimed an assist, won a penalty, forced an own goal and had a shot cleared off the line. It represented more impact than he has made all season in the league. Unfortunately he is a doubt against his former side with a “little tight calf” but, even if Wenger sounded optimistic he would be available, would he be in genuine contention? You suspect not.
Still, with Mustafi the only first-team option sidelined – Santi Cazorla cannot figure in any realistic plans at the moment – Arsenal are in rude health. The benefits of having an entire second team for midweek cup commitments are clear: Wenger’s men are about as fresh as you can be at this stage of the year.
Trips to Southampton have been volatile affairs of late. Last season, Arsenal won 2-0 in the Premier League in May and 5-0 in the FA Cup in January. That saw the pendulum swing back after a particularly devastating 4-0 defeat on Boxing Day 2015, which exposed Arsenal as title lightweights. Indeed, there have not been fewer than two goals in this fixture since 2003.
Southampton’s season has been a bit of a struggle with only four wins in 15 matches but they have improved recently: A 4-1 home win over Everton on Nov. 26 was followed by a defeat at Manchester City that was only confirmed in injury time. Last weekend, they got a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth.
Even allowing for that mini-resurgence, though, Sunday’s game has the look of a fixture in which you might try something different. Whether that be in terms of rewarding personnel for improved form or returning to a former tactical orthodoxy.
The trouble is, even battering BATE might not be enough to convince Wenger that he needs to change Plan A.
Tom is one of ESPN FC’s Arsenal bloggers. You can follow him on Twitter @tomEurosport
BOURNEMOUTH manager Eddie Howe has praised referee Jon Moss for admitting his decision not to award Cherries a penalty in the 1-1 draw against Southampton had been wrong.
When Adam Smith went to ground under a challenge from Sofiane Boufal at Vitality Stadium on Sunday, Moss awarded the visitors a free-kick and booked the Cherries defender for simulation.
The yellow card incurred by Smith was his fifth caution of the season, meaning he is banned for tomorrow’s Premier League trip to Crystal Palace.
Smith claimed the West Yorkshire official had apologised to him after the game and admitted he had made the wrong call.
Reflecting on the incident, Howe said: "The referee deserves credit for that – I’m not going to criticise him for admitting he made a mistake.
"I think that’s fine and that is agreed with in the referee’s report, that he got the decision wrong.
"All you can ask is people reflect, analyse and try to improve themselves. That’s what I would say to any of my players who make a mistake and it’s the same with referees.
“The rules are that nothing can be done for Adam or for us with the penalty decision but that’s football.”
Asked if the rules needed to be looked at in cases where referees admitted to an incorrect call, Howe added: "I don’t want to be clever over one incident which leads to a change of rule necessarily. The rules are there for a reason.
“We’ve been unfortunate in this case but they say it evens itself out so we will wait for that one to come back in our favour.”
Cedric Soares has been ruled out for the visit of Arsenal on Sunday.
The Portuguese right back missed the draw at Bournemouth with a hamstring injury, and hasn’t recovered in time to face the Gunners at St Mary’s.
That will most likely mean Jeremy Pied continuing in the side.
Pellegrino reported: “We have got Cedric Soares that won’t be ready for Sunday. He is the only one.”
Arsenal come into the game after a terrific performance but frustrating defeat against Manchester United, and then a Europa League hammering of Bate Borisov.
“Now we are more or less in the top third of the league and it’s difficult to draw conclusions. It is too early. The last third is the most important part of the season,” said Pellegrino of Sunday’s opposition.
“Arsenal have to have this race at the end with good performances.
“It is a really strong side, this year not in the Champions League but most of the time they are always fighting in the top four.
“This year I think they brought important players and I think they are a really good team.
“It will be difficult for us to beat them, it will be a nice challenge, but Arsenal is a tough team.”
With a busy fixture schedule coming up, the Saints boss has been pleased with his squad, and the way they have shown their versatility against different opponents.
“Our preparations (for Arsenal) have been good, it’s been a good week because we felt last week we changed five or six players and most of them have had opportunities,” Pellegrino explained.
“This week with Arsenal, and games against Leicester and Chelsea as well it’s another difficult week but I feel we have enough of a squad to compete well.
“We know that Arsenal is a top team, but I feel that it will be a difficult game for them too.
“Every single game is an opportunity to try and learn from the past. I think the last week was positive in two ways, first of all most of the team showed they can be part of the team.
“Secondly, in different games we have played well and reacted to different situations. We reacted against Bournemouth, we played a difficult game against City but we were there until the end and we played really well against Everton.”
Saints are searching for back-to-back home victories when Arsenal visit on Sunday, after their 4-1 success against Everton last time out at St Mary’s.
It was a 1-1 away draw at AFC Bournemouth last time out, where Charlie Austin fired his third goal in as many games.
They come up against a side hoping to record successive league wins at Southampton for the first time since August 1997. Arsene Wenger’s men lost 3-1 to Manchester United at home in their last Premier League clash, before beating BATE Borisov 6-0 in the Europa League.
TEAM NEWS
Southampton: Cédric is the only absentee for Southampton as he continues to recover from a hamstring problem, while Shane Long is back in contention after a calf injury. Another positive is the return of Josh Sims to first-team training after seven months out.
Arsenal: Shkodran Mustafi will be unavailable for Sunday’s clash at St Mary’s as he continues to recover from a thigh problem, while Theo Walcott could return after a problem with his calf.
Charlie Austin is a man in form for Southampton, with a goal against AFC Bournemouth taking his goal tally to seven goals in his last 10 Premier League starts.
During his time at QPR, he scored in both of his two Premier League appearances against the Gunners and will be looking to continue his rich vein of form.
Top scorers: Charlie Austin (4), Steven Davis (3), Manolo Gabbiadini (3), Dušan Tadić (2)
Most assists: Nathan Redmond (3), Ryan Bertrand (2)
Alexandre Lacazette has settled into English football well, with eight goals in his first 15 Premier League appearances. Only two players have ever scored more in that many games and his pace could prove a threat.
Top scorers: Alexandre Lacazette (10), Olivier Giroud (8), Theo Walcott (6)
– Southampton have only lost one of their last six home Premier League games against Arsenal (W2 D3), though it was in the last such meeting back in May
– Fraser Forster has conceded just five goals in his five Premier League games against Arsenal, despite the Gunners having 30 shots on target against the England keeper.
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