doddisalegend

Which is a nonsense that only works if every other team in the league stays exactly the same as last season. Other teams getting better doesn't necessarily equate to us being worse besides which we are in the same place in the league as we finished last season. Just look at the Bench at Man U away last season Substitutes 1Davis 5Gardos 7Long 11Tadic 27Isgrove 28Reed 33Targett Bench Vs Man U this season 3Yoshida 14Romeu 15Martina 16Ward-Prowse 20Juanmi 22Stekelenburg 28Austin Says it all to me

we've missed his link up play the last two games hopefully he is back for the westham game.

Surely Wenger should be happy his team is making progress last time he played saints his team shipped four goals this time they kept a clean sheet you'd think he would be happy

errr well Targett is a defender and Tadic is a creative attacking player so this shouldn't be a surprise. I don't get why people have a problem with Tadic playing I doubt Koeman's plan was to just defend for 90 minutes so having Tadic in a front three to try and create something for Mane and Long was vital seeing as we were playing three DM in the absence of Davis. If you play Tadic for his creative skills you pretty much except he won't be that solid defensively (though having watched him I don't think he is nearly as bad as the lazy east European tag some people want to give him). Once it became clear we were under the cosh in the second half Koeman took Tadic off.

Glad he didn't walk not doing to bad for a guy with no answers and who can't coach......

Well the squad went 1pt better than last seasons at the Arsenal

No Yoshida or Caulker on the pitch, going three/five at the back and the bigman back in goal seems to be a major factor. Even during the bad run we weren't playing that badly. The pattern was play some decent stuff not score, when we were on top, and then someone would gift a goal (or two) at the back. We seem to have stopped the gifts from the defence now we just need to score our chances......step in Mr Austin

Big game now win this and we close the gap to 2pts lose and the top 6 are probably set for this season.

Well if the game on MOTD was anything to go by he might want to just ditch the whole current 1st elven absolute garbage especially their defence. I suggest we take Benteke as a Pelle replacement......

Watching Liverpool on MOTD Jesus their defence is an absolute shambles could we actual finish above them this season? Oh and that goal from Vardy was outrageous if only Shane Long only had that in his locker when playing for saints.

Interesting Solent said Tadic put in a good shift defensively today.

That was odd JWP was having a decent game Juanmi should surely have been a replacement for an out of sorts Mane or a knackered Long really.....but hey we won..... errrr drew so I can live with it.

Blackmore on Solent tonight said that he was speaking to some London jurnos before the Arsenal game they reckon we paid QPR even less than the £4 million that has been widely quoted for Austin...

Four clean sheets in a row defence back to the best of last season. the big man between the posts was outstanding but every player worked his guts out tonight. Shame Austin wasn't fit reckon we would have nicked it with him available. Still a point away from home against Arsenal and a homer ref is a good point in my book

Victor looking good against a top six side shocker guy always looks good when auditioning for his CL dream....

Tadic is better out wide though never seems to be that good in the hole. A good attacking midfielder has to be on the summer shopping list.

I see (not surprisingly) none of the pundits are giving us much chance I have to admit to being quietly confident of coming away with something from this game. Bit of Lawro from the BBC If they are going to win the Premier League, they have to deal with teams like Southampton and despatch them at home. Southampton have been playing three at the back of late, and looking very comfortable, and Ronald Koeman's new formation has also seen them do well with two up front. But if they play with two strikers at the Emirates Stadium, I only see one outcome. Arsenal to win, and make up for their no-show in their 4-0 defeat at St Mary's on Boxing Day. Lawro's prediction: 2-0. Bit of Merson on sky This is a difficult game for Arsenal. Southampton have really turned a corner. They had a bit of a dodgy patch but they've got a run going. They're not letting in too many goals and are very hard to beat making this one a potential banana skin for Arsenal. Having Alexis Sanchez back is a real boost for the Gunners and I also think the fact Per Mertesacker is suspended is a bonus too, because we all saw what Shane Long did to him in the reverse fixture on Boxing Day. That's the way Southampton would have tried to play again, hitting long balls over the top of Mertesacker for Long to chase. Still, it's a difficult game for the Gunners but one they will win because of the return of Sanchez. He will score the first goal for me in what will be a 3-1 home win. PAUL PREDICTS: 3-1 Bit of Michael Owen Arsenal v Southampton Gunners’ boss Arsene Wenger has gone head-to-head with Ronald Koeman on ten previous occasions as Arsenal manager but has only come out on top twice. Saints have won their last three without conceding a goal whilst the Gunners have not been at their best but this is a game they must win if they are to mount a realistic title challenge. Michael’s recommendation: Arsenal to win

A point that seems lost on people. Quite happy to see the likes of Lambert, Harding, Jos the boss and Guly back myself with out the need to add every ex player people can think of.

Eh what? is that why ticket prices have soared since the advent of the PL and Sky slightly old article but this gives a good indication http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/jul/28/premier-league-ticket-prices-football the 1989-90 season, for example, during which Lord Justice Taylor produced his final report on the wider issue of football ground safety, there were thousands of tickets in Old Trafford’s standing accommodation where fans could watch Manchester United against top opposition for £3.50. Adjusted for retail-price inflation in the 24 years since, that ticket would now cost £6.94, just under a 100% increase. United’s lowest-priced ticket for this season, of which there are very many fewer than in the days of standing, will be £31. At Liverpool, where prices have been increased significantly since the 2010 takeover of the then financially-troubled club by John Henry’s Boston-based Fenway Sports Group, the 1989-90 cheapest ticket price, accommodating thousands of fans on the Kop, was £4. This season, Liverpool’s cheapest matchday ticket will be £46, an increase of 1,150%.

So Leicester have had 18.5 million bid rejected safe to say we won't be going for that guy I'd say.

According to wiki Oxo has made 36 appearances for us in that one season followed by 98 in the next four and half seasons since he went to Arsenal in 2011 (I realise he has had a few injuries). Probably would have got a lot more game time if he'd stayed with us a few more seasons but I very much doubt he cares.

Not one for Dalek but I remember enjoying these wins a lot...

Jos the Boss [video=youtube;CblDavu-sk8]

I know he got a lot of grief but I'd forgotten just how good some of his goals were couldn't help but like the guy.

So pretty bloody good then.....