Morning Gooners,

Finally, the proper football is back!

Arsenal news:

Wojciech Szczesny is available again following a rib injury and Theo Walcott will be assessed before a final decision is made, but he was training with the squad yesterday, so he should be fine and as we all know,Β Abou Diaby is a doubtΒ becauseΒ of Β a hip problem.

Southampton news:

Gaston Ramirez and Maya Yoshida could make theirΒ debutΒ butΒ Guly do Prado may be dropped after this week admitting drink-driving. Danny Fox has overcome a groin injury and should be in theΒ squad..

As said earlier, Southampton’s return to the Premier League has seen them face the current Premier League Champions and runners-up, not an easy start for any club and today they face us, the club which finished third in the league.

So they will be after a point at least today and no doubt Nigel Adkins will have looked at the replays of how other sides went away from The Emirates victorious.

We broke the goal drought in our last game through two of the new boys and I strongly suspect those goals will have been a huge relief for them. Pressure off, shoulders free ofΒ tensionΒ and now it’s time to enjoy their football.

Three clean sheets in a row make it our best start to a season defensively for 88 years, another today will see us break another record.

Never before have we gone four games without conceding at the beginning of a season in the top division but as already said, it will be a tough test today up against last season’s top scorers in the Championship.

It’s been a while since we have faced Southampton at home in the league, in fact the last time was at Highbury which resulted in a 2-2 draw back in 2004 and we have to go back 25 years to see a win for today’s opponents, that day saw Danny Wallace score the only goal of the game. Since then, we have dominated this fixture in London.

Boring Stats courtesy of the BBC:

  • We are unbeaten in our last 17 home league matches against Southampton since a 1-0 top-flight defeat in November 1987.
  • In the last season that Southampton were in the Premier League, in 2004-05, both matches between the two sides ended in a draw.
  • We are winless in our last four home league matches, the worst run since we moved to the Emirates Stadium and the longest in 17 years. We last went five Premier League home matches without a win between November 1994 and February 1995.
  • We have kept a clean sheet in our opening three league matches for the first time in the club’s top-flight history.
  • Arsene Wenger’s side have gone 22 home league matches without being awarded a penalty since Robin van Persie scored against Liverpool in April 2011.
  • Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored nine goals in 36 league appearances for Southampton, while Theo Walcott remains the south coast club’s youngest player, having made his debut in August 2005 aged 16 years and 143 days.
  • Santi Cazorla has completed a league-high 88 passes in the final third this season.

Southampton

  • The Saints are the only Premier League club yet to win a point this season. They have already lost two of their three matches by a 3-2 scoreline.
  • This is the 13th season out of 15 that they have failed to win in their opening three Premier League matches. Southampton have only once lost the first four, in 1998-99 when they went on to finish 17th.
  • There have been at least two goals scored in each of the club’s last 15 league matches since they won 1-0 at Leeds United in the Championship in March 2012.
  • They were the Championship’s top scorers last season with 85 goals but only four of those were shots from outside the penalty area – the lowest tally in the division.
  • According to Opta, Southampton have allowed their opponents more shots on target against them than any other team in the Premier League (19).

Stats really are boring aren’t they?

They mean very little in the real world as it’s all about the mindset of the manager and players on the day.

We maybe at The Emirates today and we may be up against the new boys Southampton, but in reality, they are not the new boys, their history tells us that.Β Many fans are tempted into believing that a win today is a forgone conclusion, in fact it’s not about winning, it’s about how many goals we win by, but not me.

Southampton haven’t picked up any points so far in the seasons campaign but just look at who they have faced in their opening three fixtures.

Manchester City,Β Wigan & Manchester United. Against the two Manchester sides they scored twice, losing both 3-2 and Wigan are the only side that has so far, prevented the Saints from scoring so we really need to be at our best when defending.

They have plenty of players who could cause us harm! We have plenty too who could cause Southampton all sorts of problems and if they are all on form, we should get our first three points at The Emirates this season.

Anything less than 100% focus andΒ commitment andΒ Southampton are very capable of causing an upset. They know how to score goals, they showed us that against the Manc sides.Β We just need to make sure that they don’t do it against us today.

Respect today’s opposition but show no mercy. If Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain both start, there can no room for nostalgia or sympathy towards their old club, not until after the final whistle.

Today is about Arsenal and three points, nothing more, nothing less.

After today, I really hope Southampton do well – a good club with a good manager who learned the right way with a team that play the right way.

That’s it for another day, have a good one all, and for those going to The Emirates, you may just see Giroud get off the mark…..

Have a good one all…..