After the perfect return to Premier League action at Norwich City, it’s time for Saints return to St Mary’s Stadium against Arsenal. Get ready for the game with our Match Pack, in association with eToro…
THE MATCH
Southampton v Arsenal
St Mary’s Stadium
25 June 2020, 6pm BST
THE OFFICIALS
Referee: Graham Scott
Assistants: Simon Long, Derek Eaton
Fourth official: Simon Hooper
VAR: Lee Mason
Assistant VAR: Neil Davies
Replacement official: Mark Pottage
HOW TO WATCH
The clash at St Mary’s will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event (401) and Sky Sports Football (403)
A reminder for 2019/20 Season Ticket Holders that you will be able to avail of the NOW TV free passes. If you need more information about that, please CLICK HERE.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
A win for the Saints against the Gunners would see the two sides level on 40 points in the Premier League table.
Arsenal have returned to action with two defeats in their two games against Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion putting a dent in their hopes of European Football for next season.
However, Saints cruised to a 3-0 win against struggling Norwich City at Carrow Road so will come into the fixture confident that a positive result is possible.
TEAM NEWS
Shane Long is back as expected after missing the game against the Canaries but will have to displace Michael Obafemi to get back into the starting line-up. Winger Moussa Djenepo will serve the second of a three-match ban otherwise there no other absentees.
The vistors have many long-term issues ahead of the trip to St Mary’s with Goalkeeper Bernd Leno, Defenders David Luiz, Pablo Mari, Calum Chambers, Midfielder Lucas Torreira and Attacker Gabriel Martinelli all out injured.
There is some positive news for manager Mikel Arteta with both Granit Xhaka and Sokratis being back in full training after minor injuries but Thursday may come too soon for the pair.
FORM GUIDE
Southampton:
Norwich City (a) 3-0 (Ings, Armstrong, Redmond)
Newcastle United (h) 0-1
West Ham United (a) 1-3 (Obafemi)
Aston Villa (h) 2-0 (Long, Armstrong)
Burnley (h) 1-2 (Ings)
Arsenal:
Brighton and Hove Albion (a) 1-2 (Pepe)
Manchester City (a) 0-3
West Ham United (h) 1-0 (Lacazette)
Portsmouth (a) 2-0 (Sokratis, Nketiah) (FA Cup)
Olympiakos (h) 1-2 (Aubameyang) (Europa League)
THE MANAGERS
Ralph Hasenhüttl: “Against a strong team it’s never a good or bad moment (to play Arsenal). It’s always difficult because they have quality.
“They have fantastic players. Even if they have a few injuries, other players can make an impact and if they have a little space they are unstoppable with their speed.”
Mikel Arteta: “They are a very German side. A manager who has the team into pressing mode, they are really aggressive, really good on the counter-press, really good on the transition, they know what they’re doing and they all seem very committed to him.”
ONES TO WATCH
Danny Ings: With Saints struggling for home form this season, it’ll be Danny Ings that people will be looking to.
After returning with a bang against Norwich with a goal and assist, he’ll be eyeing up reaching 20 goals for the season in all competitions.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: An obvious choice but Arsenal will be looking to the Gabon striker to get his first goal since the Premier League restart.
With 17 goals in the league so far, and one away from 50 for the Gunners, he will be aiming to close in on Jamie Vardy who leads the scoring charts with 19.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Southampton:
Goals:
Danny Ings 19
Nathan Redmond 5
James Ward-Prowse 4
Assists:
James Ward-Prowse 4
Danny Ings 4
Jack Stephens 3
Arsenal:
Goals:
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 20
Gabriel Martinelli 10
Alexandre Lacazette 9
Assists:
Nicolas Pepe 8
Bukayo Saka 7
Alexandre Lacazette 4
HEAD TO HEAD
Played 98
Saints 21
Draw 27
Arsenal 50
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
November 2019: Arsenal 2-2 Saints (Ings, Ward-Prowse)
February 2019: Arsenal 2-0 Saints
December 2018: Saints 3-2 Arsenal (Ings x2, Austin)
April 2018: Arsenal 3-2 Saints (Austin, Long)
December 2017: Saints 1-1 Arsenal (Austin)
DID YOU KNOW?
– Southampton have won three of their last five Premier League home games against Arsenal (D1 L1), more than they had in their previous 12 against them at the Dell/St Mary’s (W2 D5 L5)
– Southampton’s leading goalscorer this season Danny Ings has scored three goals in his last two Premier League appearances against Arsenal. The striker has only found the net more often against Aston Villa and Everton (4 each) in the competition.
KEEP UP TO DATE!
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Check out our interactive match centre at southamptonfc.com, with all of the live in-game updates and free audio commentary of the match, and be sure to follow us on social media for further updates and exclusive content:
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