The seventh-place Gunners are a battered side right now, something Southampton will look to take advantage of after getting just one point in their last two matches.
Arsenal have underwhelmed their way to a seventh-place standing in the English Premier League, suffering from buckets full of injuries and wildly inconsistent form along the way. While they've won two matches in a row, their home loss a week and a half ago to Manchester United still burns, and the Gunners must avoid a second straight home loss with Southampton in town.
Their guests, on the other hand, have been one of the surprises of the season. After their first team got gutted in the summer, many assumed Southampton were headed to a major slump after two successful Premier League campaigns. Instead, smart signings and a hot streak in form have them sitting third in the table. That's come in large part by being fairly decent on the road this season, including three wins in their last five matches away from home. Can they continue that form at the Emirates today?
Key player - Dusan Tadic (Southampton)
The success Tadic has found in his first EPL season makes him vital to Southampton's chances, but he's especially important today with all the injuries Arsenal have suffered in midfield and defense. Even those players who will be in the lineup aren't running at 100%, meaning that Tadic could have a chance to really run wild for Soton today. If he's on top of his game and can exploit those weaknesses, Southampton might get to have a lot of fun in this match. He's been a little out of form recently, though, so Tadic will need to kick things up a notch again today.
Key Matchup - Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) vs. Victor Wanyama (Southampton)
Ramsey is often the workhorse of Arsenal's midfield, but with both Mikel Arteta and Jack Ramsey out, even more of the workload than normal will be on the Welshman's shoulders. He's going to have to fly back and forth between the boxes to help in all phases of the match; sometimes Ramsey does very well when relied upon so heavily, but others he seems overwhelmed or just plain breaks down. With Southampton's own midfield injury woes, Wanyama will be the man tasked with keeping Ramsey contained. He's sometimes had issues dealing with players as energetic as Ramsey, so the way this matchup runs could determine the flow of the whole match.
Arsenal injuries and suspensions
Out: Mikel Arteta (calf), Jack Wilshere (Ankle), David Ospina (hip), Mesut Ozil (knee), Mathieu Debuchy (ankle) In doubt: Nacho Monreal (knee), Wojciech Szczesny (hip), Theo Walcott (groin)
Southampton injuries and suspensions
Out: Morgan Schneiderlin (thigh), James Ward-Prowse (ankle), Jay Rodriguez (knee), Sam Gallagher (knee) In doubt: Jack Cork (ill)
Arsenal have an injury list as long as your arm, with key contributors Arterta, Wilshere, Ozil, and Debuchy all out for certain. It's likely that Monreal, Szczesny, and Walcott will miss out as well, leaving Arsene Wenger scrambling to fill out his lineup card. He did alright in his last two matches against West Brom and in the Champions League against Dortmund, but with more players getting hurt seemingly every match, the challenge is growing more difficult.
Ronald Koeman also has some hardships of his own, with his best midfielder out after Schneiderlin hurt his thigh against Manchester City over the weekend. Further complicating matters is that the man most likely to replace him, Jack Cork, is in doubt as he's been sick for the last few days. How the Dutch manager sets up his midfield if Cork is out is a minor mystery, but he'll have to figure something out.
Match Date/Time: Wednesday, 7:45 P.M. local, 2:45 P.M. ET
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London, England
TV: BT Sport 1 (U.K.), NBC Premier League Extra Time (U.S. - English)
Online: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.)
Source SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1AfwyqG
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