Kevin Whitcher
In the quarter finals of the 2004 FA Cup Arsenal visited the south coast and gave their hosts a football lesson in winning 5-1. Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg each scored twice with Kolo Toure netting the other. A certain Teddy Sheringham popped up with a consolation goal in the 90th minute
Yesterday evening Arsenal went one better – this time against Southampton, by scoring five and keeping a clean sheet. It was a thoroughly enjoyable 90 minutes, and whatever the doubts about what the team can achieve under Arsene Wenger this season, games like this can only be enjoyed.
Sure, Southampton put out a very weak team. The decision to charge £15 for adult tickets was a surefire sign that this was going to be the policy. And with the match sandwiched between their League Cup semi-final second leg and a visit to Swansea three days later in the Premier League, it was no great surprise. Arsenal, for their own part, made ten changes, only Shkodran Mustafi remaining from the side that started against Burnley. But in spite of fielding a couple of youngsters of their own in the form of Maitland-Niles and Reine-Adelaide, the visitors had by far the stronger starting eleven. Southampton’s starting line-up were weaker than the team that eliminated Arsenal from the League Cup back at the tail end of November.
Significantly, Maitland-Niles, in the Coquelin role, had a generally excellent game and showed good football intelligence in his decision making. The more experienced Ospina, Gibbs and Oxlade-Chamberlain made errors in their own half that might have led to Southampton goals, but it was a night when mistakes were not punished. When I saw the midfield in the line-ups, I thought, this is a mix of indiscipline and inexperience. Yet, they ran the show yesterday.
The Ox was the man of the match because of his attacking play, threading balls through to forwards with precision. The goals were all delightful to watch, often involving a runner exploiting space after some crisp passing before cutting back to a team-mate to finish.
Both Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck started the game. Neither had featured in the starting line-up for a while, the latter obviously far longer – and between them they scored all of Arsenal’s goals. The combination play was as good as we have seen from the team this season, which, given the number of second stringers out there, give cause for optimism. That both Walcott and Welbeck looked good in front of goal could be timely given at this time of the season Olivier Giroud often hits a dry spell. We wait to see who will be selected in the next two matches.
Jeff Reine-Adelaide contributed, but had a quieter game than most of his attacking colleagues. The lack of Arsene Wenger on the bench seemed to make no difference whatsoever, and for most of the game Steve Bould did not leave his seat to influence matters verbally. Mind you, he hardly needed to.
One for a future trivia question. Was this the first time a starting Arsenal eleven began with three players who had double-barrelled surnames? A surefire sign of the increasing gentrification in the game? (That’s a gag by the way). It was good to see Bellerin return and one imagines that he will retain his position. Overall, the defenders didn’t have too much work to do, such was the paucity of the Saints’ display. If only it could be like this when the Gunners return in the rescheduled Premier League fixture later in the season.
Sanchez, like a dog on a lead wanting to chase a ball, couldn’t wait to get on and join the fun. On one hand, why risk him at 3-0 up? But currently, the club are trying to keep the player sweet, which seems to indicate there is a chance he might yet sign a new deal. If they knew he were going, they probably would have not indulged him. He created two goals when he came on.
A chant of “Stevie Bould’s red and white army” (so what if they were playing in yellow) rang out loud from the away end and the home fans drifted into the night before the final whistle. Good luck to them at Wembley at the end of February, when I have little doubt we’ll see a very different eleven to face Man United in the League Cup Final.
Arsenal wait to see who they face in the last 16, but I’d be very surprised if they have an easier game than this for the rest of the season. Tougher tasks lie ahead, but there is no question that there is depth in the squad, that the manager has options in selection. A good evening’s work and whatever you think of Arsenal in 2017, highly enjoyable to watch.
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