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 a right away Arsenal response, although, as Saka stole possession and fed Kai Havertz, who guided a high quality end previous Aaron Ramsdale to attain for a seventh consecutive house recreation.
The turnaround was full when Saka’s diagonal cross was transformed by substitute Gabriel Martinelli, with the objective surviving a VAR test 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 way of 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 ultimately, having racked up 29 pictures, the victory maintaining them a degree behind leaders Liverpool and guaranteeing Southampton’s anticipate 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 towards 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 alter video games, to resolve video games, like many different gamers, and he desires to be on the prime.
“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 nevertheless it 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 person else has greater than 4.
Saka has shone for Arsenal this season
Saka’s objective eliminated any jeopardy from the ultimate couple of minutes of the sport and adopted a equally vital 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 towards Saints.
Having had seven pictures and created eight possibilities within the 4-2 win over Leicester, one other recreation during which he helped Arsenal avert catastrophe, he recorded comparable numbers right here, trying one other seven pictures and creating one other seven possibilities.
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 loads. They caught with the sport plan, I believed 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 huge moments. We hit the bar, hit the submit, we scored a very good 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 shiny 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 large stage and produced a few of Southampton’s greatest attacking moments.
At one level within the second half, he might 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 through a slight deflection. His high quality shone by way of – and never for the primary time this season. A shiny future awaits.
