Arsenal continued their Premier League campaign by traveling to St. Mary’s to face Southampton. Arsenal got off to a good start, but eventually ended up drawing 1-1. Let’s get into the Arsenal week 11 match review for Arsenal vs. Southampton.
Arsenal Week 11 Match Review: The Positives
Starting with Arsenal’s defense, Gabriel Magalhaes had quite a good game. He defended well and remained composed while on the ball. He did not make any major mistakes and the goal that Southampton scored wasn’t really his fault at all. It is good to see another good performance from him.
As far as the midfield goes, both Xhaka and Odegaard played well. Xhaka scored Arsenal’s only goal of the game and it was another good strike with his right foot. As previously stated, Xhaka is thriving in his more advanced role. He now has 7 goal contributions this season already and he willhave many more than that by the end of the season at this rate.
Odegaard also played well. He made plenty of good passes and helped Arsenal drive up the pitch with purpose. He helped create a number of chances, although Arsenal’s forward players did not capitalize on them. Still, it was a very good performance from Odegaard and he is another player in good form in the early part of the Premier League season.
Nketiah also played well after he came on as a substitute. He played on the left wing in place of Martinelli, but he still had a few decent scoring chances. I think he would have played better as a striker in place of Jesus, but regardless, Nketiah did have a positive impact on the game. I expect him to start scoring again relatively soon.
The Negatives
While Arsenal defended well overall, they could have done much better to prevent Southampton’s goal. This ultimately cost them two points. Arsenal will have to maintain their defensive focus better in order to get back to winning ways in the future.
Additionally, the Gunners were not clinical in front of goal against Southampton. They wasted a number of chances, both in the first half and in the second half. Jesus missed a number of chances and while he had a decent game overall, his lack of goals lately is a bit of a concern.
Fabio Vieira also had an awful game after coming on. He replaced Odegaard in the second half and Arsenal’s midfield instantly seemed less effective as a result. He lost possession multiple times and did not have a positive impact on the game. Hopefully, he will play better in upcoming matches.
Arsenal Week 11 Match Review- Manager Rating: 7
Arteta can’t really be blamed for Arsenal missing so many chances. However, his substitutions were odd and did not really work out too well. Nketiah played well after coming on, but he should have replaced Jesus as the main central striker. Vieira also had a poor game after being introduced. Also, substituting Odegaard in the second half was a questionable decision, since he was one of Arsenal’s best players in this game.
Arsenal Must Win Against Nottingham Forest
Arsenal next face Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League after a Europa League game against PSV. Arsenal must win this match to help secure their position at the top of the Premier League. Thankfully, Forest have been quite poor this season, so I would bet on Arsenal to win.
Check back next week to see our match review of Arsenal vs. Nottingham Forest.