Never ones to do things the easy way, Arsenal fell behind in the second half against a dogged Southampton this afternoon, but goals from Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka ensured all three points.
The star of the show was Saka, who also provided two assists, ensuring Aaron Ramsdale’s return to North London was an unhappy one – at least in terms of the result.
Here’s how the players rated this evening.
Read the Arsenal 3-1 Southampton match report and see the goals here
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Genuine argument that Havertz is our most important player at the moment. We look a totally different team without him up top. Love the guy
It’s a toss between Kai and star boy
I agree.
Kai & B just terrific again. The subs really impacted game for us. COYG!
His pass at midfield while on the ground was terrific to see.
Only thing I’d wonder is will he do it under the huge pressure and then I remember the Champions League final…
Sterling and Jesus looked really rusty. We got the 3 points but again we made it too complicated. TP at RB is just not a good idea. Win is all ghat matters but Sterling is not ready to start for us in the premiere league.
Sterling should never have been brought in. Really overrated player.
Should maybe give him a bit of time.
Yes, and not start him wit Jesus probably
Top at Liverpool, top at Man City for many years, what else do you need to know about the reputation?
You probably said the same thing about Havertz
You probably said that about Havertz too a year ago.
Jesus and Sterling should rewatch this game over and over again until they know why they have became useless subs.
10/10 for Saka in second half.
Don’t be so negative. They have their role to play and worked hard
Agree. Plenty of people dissed Kai in the early days…
Agreed but I think this is a touch harsh on Sterling who is in a new team and not used much. Jesus has less defence
Cant help but think we would have been ahead at half time had Trossard started. I understand it was a good opportunity to give Jesus a run. Seems Trossards clicks better atm with his teammates
We’ve had plenty of players down the years who needed a run in the side to find their groove. Could be Sterling and Jesus are like that.
By contrast, Trossard’s real super power might just be that he seems to play as well from the bench as he does as a starter. What a signing he’s been.
Love the bonus rating ❤️
Jorginho Borginho!
Nice bonus rating Andrew. Sorry to learn of your loss. Been there several times so can empathise. Cherish the memories.
Subs made all the difference. Havertz and saka both were 10s i don’t know what to make of Calafiori but he is a hard man cant wait to see a midfield of 🍚, mo,and mm. I commented on Havertz after the away Newcastle game last year saying that tackle which maybe should have been red, shows me really cares about his team and will not allow them to be bullied. He will be fine. after that I had no doubt he would come around but under no circumstances did I ever think he would be the player he is. I… Read more »
We win another without Ødegaard. Very good from Martinelli and Partey. An off day from Saliba (that means he didn’t completely overwhelm every opponent who dared come near him; still pretty good by human standards.) I worry a little about Califiori–brilliant, exciting, unpredictable in attack, but maybe a bit too easy for a fast winger to race past.
Yep, maybe I’m harsh but I thought the score for Calafiori was OTT given his defensive frailties (in this game, not saying he’s bad in general – although I can see what Blogs mentioned the other day about his lack of pace; I thought it was just because Hakimi is lightning quick).
Didn’t think Merino did an awful lot, either. Looks like he still needs to get up to the speed of the game.
Remind me, how long have those two players been in the prem?
Is he slower than Ben White? I think White even by his own admission isn’t the fastest, but he’s somehow never caught out of position and never seems like he’s lost a foot race. Ricky seems like he has the intelligence to be able to learn that from his fellow full back, I’m sure that’s something Arteta and the staff will be working with him on.
Jesus just couldn’t quite handle the Saints today!
He was all “Santa Maria…”
Far too slow, entitled and complacent for 50 minutes. It took Southampton going ahead to finally wake us up. Saka was man of the match, what a player. It turns out this, like all Premier League fixtures, was not a good game to rotate, especially when already missing Timber, White and Odegaard. Let’s keep Sterling, Jesus and Jorginho fresh for Preston in the league cup.
I thought Jorginho was good.
Seems like it was the perfect game to rotate, we gave some people minutes, dominated the half and should’ve had at least one goal going into halftime. Then we had several impact subs to bring in if needed, which we did. I was never concerned about losing the match even after going behind, the rotation worked out fine
Partey should have made an effort to close down Archer for their goal.
Love the new Sterling graphic! Spike Lee is a Gooner!
I don’t get it. Why a boom box?
It’s a play on the character from Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” – Radio Raheem.
Saka scored 2 goals today? Think it should read 1 goal, 2 assists, no?
2024 Havertz iteration is a different beast: run, track back, tackles, shoot,, heads, scores…becoming the player we saw on Leverkusen, totally cured from the joy-sucking-bug from West London
Saka had 1 goal and 1 assist I think
Agreed, to say his pass to Havertz was an assist really is pushing the boundaries of the meaning of the word.
Any pass for a goal that’s scored from outside the box should automatically not be an assist
Fantastic to hear this about g martinelli
Archers shot was slightly deflected, hence why it ended right in the corner
the bad: another game that passed gabriel jesus by. sterling had a point to prove, and instead he looked like a whining feather being brushed off the ball so easily all the time. martinelli keeps offering almost nothing, good thing we are good at set pieces, because everything he does ends in a corner.
the good: calafiori is an absolute machine, matching saliba’s levels of rolls royce. saka always delivers. that’s about it
If Saliba is a Rolls the Calafiori Is surely a Lamborghini.
Looks amazing, great performance, but you get the feeling one day it’s going to spin you into a tree and catch fire.
Exciting times!
Another game where I knew we’d win even after going down a goal . However ??? Jesus looks like he’s looking to leave ? Sulky & miles away from the standard of commitment of the rest of the team
Calafiori is definitely in the ‘high risk-high reward’ bracket of players. But sometimes you need that – think Bayern last season when we were crying out for something dynamic and different. I get the feeling he is going to be a difference maker in pivotal games. But he will make mistakes and I think we’re gonna need to come to terms with that.
Nice homage to your Archer, blogs.
Anybody else a tad bit concerned re Calafioris pace?
Agreed. He loves to play in the front foot and win it early, and today showed why he does that. Don’t get me wrong, I love the dude, but his exposure could’ve proved more costly a few times.
He’s lucky to have Gabriel behind him to help, but a good team will exploit that
Not good from Jesus and Sterling, was a good game for them to contribute especially Jesus. Great result, amazing Saka and Kai, but overall performance should have been better. Need to use these games to improve goal difference (though it’s a little early for that).
Maybe blogs was watching another game as Saka scored one goal and got an assist … not to goals .. havertz is pure gold … Jesus needs to play in the reserves for a it as he has forgot how to play and enjoy football..
I thought Calafiori was very good today. MOTM in the first half before our attack came to life in the second. He’s such an exciting player, if this is the standard he’s at already I can’t wait to see how good he gets after some more time with the team.
RIP Archer ❤️
The evidence today is that you can’t start Jesus and Sterling together. They play in exactly the same manner, head down, try to dribble around or through the defense. Totally distorts the way the team needs to attack. Looks like their roles (particularly Sterling’s) will be to come into a game late after a lead has been established to give starters some down time.