Unai Emery’s philosophy begins to shine through as Arsenal beat Southampton

Following their progression into the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday, Arsenal had the opportunity to lift the mood further by sneaking into the Premier League top four. Southampton were the opponents and went into this fixture desperate to drag themselves out of the relegation zone.

With Manchester United drawing their game against Liverpool, and Chelsea on Carabao Cup Final duty, Arsenal managed to move up to fourth with a 2-0 victory. This tactical analysis will focus on the Gunners’ impressive display.

Lineups

Unai Emery elected to go with a 4-2-3-1 formation, choosing Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira at the base of the midfield. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi flanked the returning Aaron Ramsey, while Alexandre Lacazette played the lone striker role. Mesut Ozil joined Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and new signing Denis Suarez on the bench.

Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl set his team up in a 5-3-1-1, preferring to defend deep and hit their hosts on the counter-attack. Redmond played on the last line, supported by Stuart Armstrong, Emile Hojbjerg, and James Ward-Prowse. Yan Valery and Matt Targett were tasked with providing the width.

Proactive defending

Arguably the biggest debate surrounding Emery’s start to life at Arsenal has been the frequent exclusion of Mesut Ozil from the starting XI. Despite the German’s obvious talent, he has yet to prove to the new manager that he is willing to work hard off the ball. In Ozil’s absence on Sunday, high pressing and counter-pressing were notable patterns in Arsenal’s performance.