Bukayo Saka impressed Arsenal to victory over Southampton as they got here from behind to win 3-1 on the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal have been annoyed by the dogged guests within the first half and fell behind quickly after the break when substitute Cameron Archer discovered the underside nook following a Saints counter.
The objective sparked an instantaneous Arsenal response, although, as Saka stole possession and fed Kai Havertz, who guided a positive end previous Aaron Ramsdale to attain for a seventh consecutive residence recreation.
The turnaround was full when Saka’s diagonal cross was transformed by substitute Gabriel Martinelli, with the objective surviving a VAR examine for offside, earlier than Saka pounced on one other Saints error to transform Arsenal’s third and wrap up the victory.
Arsenal, profligate early on having handed a primary Premier League begin to Raheem Sterling and a primary begin of the season to Gabriel Jesus, needed to come by extra nervy moments between their second and third objectives, with Tyler Dibling clipping the upright and a David Raya punch from a nook bouncing again onto the bar.
However they ran out deserved winners in the long run, having racked up 29 pictures, the victory preserving them some extent behind leaders Liverpool and guaranteeing Southampton’s look forward to a primary win continues regardless of an improved displaying on their 3-1 loss to Bournemouth.
Arteta salutes ‘unbelievable’ Arsenal response
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta in his press convention:
“The first half I thought it was exceptional, the amount of dominance that we had, the areas that we played in, the amount of situations and chances that we created, open play, on set pieces, with our counter-press. It’s unbelievable that we didn’t score a goal.
“Then we began the second half and we have been a bit sloppy, particularly within the first 5 or 10 minutes with the ball.
“The game became a little bit more open. They scored the goal and then, again, we threw away everything that we did in the first half and started a completely new game in a really difficult context.
Bukayo Saka scores the third objective for Arsenal in opposition to Southampton
Saka is challenged by Southampton’s Ryan Manning
“The team reacted incredibly well. A lot of composure, big belief, very good clarity in what we had to do, and the crowd was exceptional, the subs were exceptional, and we managed to do it again.”
On Bukayo Saka: “That’s the maturity and that’s the steps that players have to do. He has been long enough in the team now, he has the right to have that role.
“He believes in that, that he has the capability to vary video games, to resolve video games, like many different gamers, and he needs to be on the high.
“Sometimes players have to create those moments, and he’s certainly done that today again.”
Evaluation: Saka steps up once more
Mikel Arteta fielded a entrance 4 with a mixed whole of 279 objectives and 158 assists within the Premier League but it surely was the youngest member of the quartet who actually stepped up.
This was one other excellent show from Saka, who, at solely 23, continues to be the participant Arsenal look to within the tough moments. His pair of assists took him to seven within the Premier League this season. On the time of writing, no one else has greater than 4.
Saka has shone for Arsenal this season
Saka’s objective eliminated any jeopardy from the ultimate jiffy of the sport and adopted a equally essential strike in Tuesday’s Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain.
A more in-depth have a look at the numbers underlines the extraordinary extent of his affect in opposition to Saints.
Having had seven pictures and created eight probabilities within the 4-2 win over Leicester, one other recreation by which he helped Arsenal avert catastrophe, he recorded comparable numbers right here, trying one other seven pictures and creating one other seven probabilities.
This time, he had a objective and two assists to indicate for his efforts; Arsenal’s match-winner as soon as once more.
Martin happy with Southampton efforts
Southampton boss Russell Martin:
“I feel really proud of the team in a lot of ways. The willingness to defend and fight and run that wasn’t there in the first half on Monday was there in bundles today.
“I really feel like they’ve grown since Monday, they’ve learnt so much. They caught with the sport plan, I assumed it labored rather well.
“I knew we were going to be under a bit of pressure in the first half especially, and then asked them to be a bit braver in the second half, to show willingness to take the ball, and we did that.
“We had some massive moments. We hit the bar, hit the submit, we scored objective, however we’re not in entrance for lengthy sufficient and that is the one frustration.”
Evaluation: Dibling exhibits star potential
Dibling has been a vibrant spot for Saints in a tough season and that continued on the Emirates Stadium. The 18-year-old continues to indicate star potential, even in difficult circumstances.
He seemed unfazed on the massive stage and produced a few of Southampton’s greatest attacking moments.
At one level within the second half, he may very well be seen burning previous Arsenal left-back Riccardo Calafiori and crossing for Manuel Fernandes, whose scooped end looped narrowly over.
Not lengthy after that, he was slicing inside, into the No 10 place, and unleashing a strong long-range effort that clipped the submit by way of a slight deflection. His high quality shone by – and never for the primary time this season. A vibrant future awaits.
