Southampton 1-1 Arsenal - Match Thread

[Saint_lambden]

3 hours ago, nta786 said:

An Arsenal friend messaged me to say he’ll refer us from now on in as “Stokehampton”

Glad to see that physical side from us, especially DCC and Lyanco. 

We'll just continue to refer to them as Arsenal because, as usual, they spent half the game rolling around on the floor like a bunch of fannies. 

[austsaint]

5 hours ago, Mr X said:

Elyonoussi best game for us (not a very high bar) Duje Ćaleta-Car looks a liability twice held a player back with his arms all round them got away with it though 

Hope you watch the game again.  Caleta-Car was anything but a liability for the second week running - it's going to be interesting when ABK is available again, because we have 4 CBs who all have something about them compared to last year when we had just one, (plus Lyanco, who wasn't in the frame but probably should have been).

[ButtikonSaint]

We were physical, had attitude and sometimes nasty, we also scored a really good technical goal - Fantastic.
That was a good second half with Stu getting into the groove and Lyanco raising the roof - good end to the week 🙂 COYS
 

[SaintBobby]

Caleta-Car is our best centre back, I think. He was excellent today. The big disappointment this season has been JWP. He hasn’t been awful. Maybe a 5 or 6 out of 10, but I’d hoped he’d have a glittering 8 or 9 out of 10. Thus far, he hasn’t. 
 

Obviously, we are (a) missing a really great centre forward (b) trying to build a new team with so many incomings and (c) suffering from a bit of an injury crisis (with perhaps 5 of our best players today not starting? Lavia, ABK, KWP, Tino, Che?) 

So, all in all, a great point!

[benjii]

Lyanco is funny, but he needs to be more disciplined. He could have been sent off twice.

I like Caletta Car. He must be horrible to play against. 

We've actually got a really strong contingent of centre backs now, so maybe a back 3 is the way to go.

[SNSUN]

39 minutes ago, benjii said:

Lyanco is funny, but he needs to be more disciplined. He could have been sent off twice.

I like Caletta Car. He must be horrible to play against. 

We've actually got a really strong contingent of centre backs now, so maybe a back 3 is the way to go.

Yep been saying it for a while now, certainly in games we're expected to be defending a lot in. It'll be even better when we get KWP and Tino back, but we have 4 decent options at CB now and it's our strongest position. This is of course in contrast to the 3 at the back experiment we tried at the beginning of the season with Valery and Bednarek. 

 

My two closest friends are Arsenal fans. One hasn't messaged me since the game and the other called us "a bunch of cheating bastards" and says we bribed the ref. Always good to get up 'em.

[eurosaint]

3 hours ago, SNSUN said:

Yep been saying it for a while now, certainly in games we're expected to be defending a lot in. It'll be even better when we get KWP and Tino back, but we have 4 decent options at CB now and it's our strongest position. This is of course in contrast to the 3 at the back experiment we tried at the beginning of the season with Valery and Bednarek. 

 

My two closest friends are Arsenal fans. One hasn't messaged me since the game and the other called us "a bunch of cheating bastards" and says we bribed the ref. Always good to get up 'em.

My Arsenal mates said exactly the same thing, I responded by reminding them that they never complained in the days of Adams, Bould and Keown !

For sure Lyanco and Caleta-Car intimidated them in the second half but did they really think that we should stand aside and let them dance around us !

Their midfield / forward players are actually quite lightweight and I reckon some other teams may have clocked that so maybe we've exposed a weakness !

 

[egg]

4 minutes ago, eurosaint said:

My Arsenal mates said exactly the same thing, I responded by reminding them that they never complained in the days of Adams, Bould and Keown !

For sure Lyanco and Caleta-Car intimidated them in the second half but did they really think that we should stand aside and let them dance around us !

Their midfield / forward players are actually quite lightweight and I reckon some other teams may have clocked that so maybe we've exposed a weakness !

 

Not just second half. Lyanco went right through Martinelli in the first half and left him in a heap. That set the tone. Him and Carleta-Car gave proper old fashioned centre back performances and had no respect for billy big bollox reputations. Was nice to see, although on another day Lyanco could have seen red for throwing his head at their player. 

[goodymatt]

We seem to have an annual habit of getting a result with a depleted team against a top 4 opponent. It’s frustrating that we can’t play like that second half every week, maybe confidence is building in that direction now.

Really proud of that second half performance, all we ask for is for the players to give 100% and go for it. Well deserved point indeed. I particularly enjoyed Arteta’s reaction to our goal on Sky, he went full Tony Adams training session antics.

DCC and Lyanco have great physical presence is the absence of ABK. They had great games yesterday. However, they do both give me that feeling that they could make a rash decision. Lyanco often put the ball out of play under no pressure, I wouldn’t agree that he can play CDM.

Fair play to Moi, that second half performance is why he’s in the team, didn’t think he had that in him at all. Perraud is a terrier and is growing into the LB nicely, great to see.

[John Boy Saint]

17 hours ago, OttawaSaint said:

That ref has still not reffed a Saints loss. Legend!

Many Arsenal fans on various online posts bitching about that fact and his leniency towards us. DCC's tussle with Jesus  viewed from behind the goal was a bit heart in mouth given how pernickety refs can be, but I think the fact that Jesus final act in the skirmish was to make out he had been thrown to the floor was bordering on the second card for simulation. 

Lyanco giving Martinelli then Xhaka food for thought when going anywhere near "His corner of Southampton" was quite amusing - he was a lucky boy following the nibble at Xhaka, but fair play Xhaka he stayed on his feet and the ref just gave him a warning.  Having some monsters at the back with a bit of grit was good to see. Strange game having started off as Hmmmm we are going to get battered, then some point in the first half Arsenal suddenly seeming to be playing for time and not sure what to do.  All in all the performance made the walk back to the car in the rain not too bad....................... once you got all the rain related post match tunes on the PA out of your head.

Hey even the half time Crossbar challenge was entertaining, hit not once but twice from the same chap, then the lad who had already come close chipped in too - suddenly the prize budget was blown to smithereens - so that will be back to the relay for the rest of the season.

[suewhistle]

8 minutes ago, John Boy Saint said:

Hey even the half time Crossbar challenge was entertaining, hit not once but twice from the same chap, then the lad who had already come close chipped in too - suddenly the prize budget was blown to smithereens - so that will be back to the relay for the rest of the season.

You forgot the super cool pigeon in the Chapel/Itchen corner!

[trousers]

3 minutes ago, suewhistle said:

You forgot the super cool pigeon in the Chapel/Itchen corner!

I had to chuckle at the BBC commentary on MotD2 last when the commentator said at one point "Ward-Prowse almost trod on a pigeon there"... his nonchalant tone of voice made it seem like it was a perfectly normal thing to say during a football game

[ally_uk]

Lyanco and CC are exactly what we need right now. A bit of balls and Ave some of that ya bstsrd defending. 

If we can get a Unit to sit in front of them like Wanyama haha happy days

[saintwbu]

DCC reminded me a bit of Jose Fonte yesterday. Quite simple and understated, a bit messy in terms of pushing and pulling, but just got the job done. Salisu is great at winning duels, blocking etc, it’s always felt like he’s lacked a calming influence alongside him. So far in ABK and DCC we seem to have really upgraded in terms of partnerships, and it is such a joy to not have to watch Bednarek being bullied by every forward he tries to engage with. 

[cloggy saint]

19 minutes ago, ally_uk said:

Lyanco and CC are exactly what we need right now. A bit of balls and Ave some of that ya bstsrd defending. 

If we can get a Unit to sit in front of them like Wanyama haha happy days

A unit? Do you mean Inuit?

[markr27]

32 minutes ago, suewhistle said:

You forgot the super cool pigeon in the Chapel/Itchen corner!

I quite enjoyed its little stepover when Saints were on the attack midway through the half, before it switched from playing wide left to centre forward. 

[John Boy Saint]

3 minutes ago, cloggy saint said:

A unit? Do you mean Inuit?

Only if he brings his Igloo - bit of a variation on "Parking the bus".....................just got to hope they don't turn on the undersoil heating!

🙂

[david in sweden]

3 hours ago, egg said:

Not just second half. Lyanco went right through Martinelli in the first half and left him in a heap. That set the tone. Him and Carleta-Car gave proper old fashioned centre back performances and had no respect for billy big bollox reputations. Was nice to see, although on another day Lyanco could have seen red for throwing his head at their player. 

I thought that Carleta-Car looked the part alongside Salisu, and given some freedom,  Lyanco was a revelation.    A real " street-fighter " who doesn't take prisoners.

Agreed Elyounoussi's good showing deserved MoM award for his input, and Stuart Armstrong made a very difficult finish look like a practice ground tap-in.

We were definitely worth the point against a top end side who have been going like a train since Day 1 this season.     For once Arteta had no complaints. 

[jabei]

19 hours ago, Pamplemousse said:

Yup, they're all whinging about the ref

 

Absolutely hilarious, they set the tone in the first half by either constantly diving or faking injuries. Ref was too astute not to fall for it.

Not often we get the chance to applaud the ref. He deserves credit, he got most things right...Theo's dive included. Thought he possibly could've gone red for Lyanco at the end. It was definitely a headbutt. If it had made contact with any part of the Arsenal player, it would definitely have been red. After all the praise I'm afraid I don't have a clue who the ref was.

 

[saintant]

20 minutes ago, jabei said:

Not often we get the chance to applaud the ref. He deserves credit, he got most things right...Theo's dive included. Thought he possibly could've gone red for Lyanco at the end. It was definitely a headbutt. If it had made contact with any part of the Arsenal player, it would definitely have been red. After all the praise I'm afraid I don't have a clue who the ref was.

 

Just watched the incident again on highlights and I wouldn't call it a headbutt. Both players faces were right up against one another in an aggressive manner but there was no movement by either to butt the opponent so a yellow card was fair punishment. 

[saintwbu]

1 hour ago, saintant said:

Just watched the incident again on highlights and I wouldn't call it a headbutt. Both players faces were right up against one another in an aggressive manner but there was no movement by either to butt the opponent so a yellow card was fair punishment. 

It’s more his jolting action once Nketiah let go of him, definitely would’ve been a red if he’d made any decent contact but luckily ended up being more chest area and didn’t really connect.

[Charlie Wayman]

7 hours ago, John Boy Saint said:

Many Arsenal fans on various online posts bitching about that fact and his leniency towards us. DCC's tussle with Jesus  viewed from behind the goal was a bit heart in mouth given how pernickety refs can be, but I think the fact that Jesus final act in the skirmish was to make out he had been thrown to the floor was bordering on the second card for simulation. 

Lyanco giving Martinelli then Xhaka food for thought when going anywhere near "His corner of Southampton" was quite amusing - he was a lucky boy following the nibble at Xhaka, but fair play Xhaka he stayed on his feet and the ref just gave him a warning.  Having some monsters at the back with a bit of grit was good to see. Strange game having started off as Hmmmm we are going to get battered, then some point in the first half Arsenal suddenly seeming to be playing for time and not sure what to do.  All in all the performance made the walk back to the car in the rain not too bad....................... once you got all the rain related post match tunes on the PA out of your head.

Hey even the half time Crossbar challenge was entertaining, hit not once but twice from the same chap, then the lad who had already come close chipped in too - suddenly the prize budget was blown to smithereens - so that will be back to the relay for the rest of the season.

On another day both players would have been sent off, controlled aggression is fine as long as it is within the rules and spirit of the game but outright thuggery should be neither admired nor encouraged. How does it help us if players are being sent off regularly?

Skill over physical intimidation any day please, we are the Saints and and have always played our way out of trouble with attractive football. If punch-ups are your thing then go watch Boxing.

[saintant]

19 minutes ago, saintwbu said:

It’s more his jolting action once Nketiah let go of him, definitely would’ve been a red if he’d made any decent contact but luckily ended up being more chest area and didn’t really connect.

Agree but anyway it's good to see us being more aggressive and letting opponents know we'll go toe to toe and not back away from the fight. We can be far too passive but currently the likes of Lyanco, DCC and Perraud are getting stuck in. There'll probably be red cards and penalties along the way but as long as it's within reason I'd far rather that than us rolling over without battling. 

[Whitey Grandad]

3 hours ago, jabei said:

Not often we get the chance to applaud the ref. He deserves credit, he got most things right...Theo's dive included. Thought he possibly could've gone red for Lyanco at the end. It was definitely a headbutt. If it had made contact with any part of the Arsenal player, it would definitely have been red. After all the praise I'm afraid I don't have a clue who the ref was.

 

Yes. Well refereed.

[Secret Site Agent]

14 hours ago, SNSUN said:

Yep been saying it for a while now, certainly in games we're expected to be defending a lot in. It'll be even better when we get KWP and Tino back, but we have 4 decent options at CB now and it's our strongest position. This is of course in contrast to the 3 at the back experiment we tried at the beginning of the season with Valery and Bednarek. 

 

My two closest friends are Arsenal fans. One hasn't messaged me since the game and the other called us "a bunch of cheating bastards" and says we bribed the ref. Always good to get up 'em.

My mate reckons we are a bunch of fouling bastards and Saka should have got a penalty.

 

I told him we never touched him, so what you are saying is that the Ref should have given you a penalty because Saints fouled him using THE FORCE. That shut him up.

[Whitey Grandad]

1 hour ago, Secret Site Agent said:

My mate reckons we are a bunch of fouling bastards and Saka should have got a penalty.

 

I told him we never touched him, so what you are saying is that the Ref should have given you a penalty because Saints fouled him using THE FORCE. That shut him up.

At the merest hint of a touch they were hitting the grass like bugs splattering a windscreen. Pathetic bunch of flimsiest.

[John Boy Saint]

2 hours ago, Charlie Wayman said:

On another day both players would have been sent off, controlled aggression is fine as long as it is within the rules and spirit of the game but outright thuggery should be neither admired nor encouraged. How does it help us if players are being sent off regularly?

Skill over physical intimidation any day please, we are the Saints and and have always played our way out of trouble with attractive football. If punch-ups are your thing then go watch Boxing.

Come on if you watched football in the 70’s 80’s thuggery was part and parcel of a Saturday afternoon. Yesterday shenanigans was a million miles away from thuggery, it’s was more using superior strength to impose themselves on opposition players. Yes  on another day Lyanco towards the end could easily have been first in the showers.
If you are happy watching sanitised football that’s spoilt by endless simulation of being poleaxed when breathed upon, then that’s a shame.If a Saints players physical presence makes an opposition player think twice about going anywhere near that player acting to achieve what’s become the primary objective to win a cheap snidey non free kick then I’m all for a bit of intimidation within the rules. 
 

Ultimately it was controlled aggression within the rules, because neither the Ref OR the VAR Ref felt the need to take a closer look at anything 

[Whitey Grandad]

3 minutes ago, John Boy Saint said:

Come on if you watched football in the 70’s 80’s thuggery was part and parcel of a Saturday afternoon. Yesterday shenanigans was a million miles away from thuggery, it’s was more using superior strength to impose themselves on opposition players. Yes  on another day Lyanco towards the end could easily have been first in the showers.
If you are happy watching sanitised football that’s spoilt by endless simulation of being poleaxed when breathed upon, then that’s a shame.If a Saints players physical presence makes an opposition player think twice about going anywhere near that player acting to achieve what’s become the primary objective to win a cheap snidey non free kick then I’m all for a bit of intimidation within the rules. 
 

Ultimately it was controlled aggression within the rules, because neither the Ref OR the VAR Ref felt the need to take a closer look at anything 

Well said. When Lyanco clattered into them for the first time I said to my grandson that they’d be just a little bit more wary the next time they met.

I remember a game near the end of the season at the Dell when Arsenal beat us and won the league. I mentioned to some of the Arsenal fans after the game that their team had been somewhat aggressive and their reply was merely that you needed that sort of thing in your team if you were going to win anything.

[saint1977]

11 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

Well said. When Lyanco clattered into them for the first time I said to my grandson that they’d be just a little bit more wary the next time they met.

I remember a game near the end of the season at the Dell when Arsenal beat us and won the league. I mentioned to some of the Arsenal fans after the game that their team had been somewhat aggressive and their reply was merely that you needed that sort of thing in your team if you were going to win anything.

Vieira and Petit weren’t shrinking violets, neither a later stage Adams, Keown etc. Wenger’s title winning teams had that core which could play but equally bite, after the stadium move the spending seemed to focus more on smaller more lightweight players and even the big lumps eg Mertesacker were a bit meh. 

Lyanco needs to be careful with playing leaning heads away from home - although the Douglas Luiz sending off at Fulham was a joke, correctly rescinded - but otherwise loved the controlled aggression which we’ve not seen at home for years. DCC has added solidity and more aggression too and Perraud was already a little battler. Just need to get Lavia fit so there’s some physical presence screening the back four now.

Can’t have a whole team of Papa Bouba Diops but in recent years it’s either been bringing slow, technical players in or big height but lightweight eg Vestergaard or Bednarek. 

[The Cat]

Arsenal fans moaning about Saints players being too aggressive is a bit of a stretch considering what Paul Davis did to Glenn Cockerill.

[VectisSaint]

5 hours ago, Charlie Wayman said:

On another day both players would have been sent off, controlled aggression is fine as long as it is within the rules and spirit of the game but outright thuggery should be neither admired nor encouraged. How does it help us if players are being sent off regularly?

Skill over physical intimidation any day please, we are the Saints and and have always played our way out of trouble with attractive football. If punch-ups are your thing then go watch Boxing.

Always admired the silky skills of John McGrath, Brian O'Neil, Dennis Hollywood, Jim Gabriel, true gents.😉

[alehouseboys]

7 hours ago, VectisSaint said:

Always admired the silky skills of John McGrath, Brian O'Neil, Dennis Hollywood, Jim Gabriel, true gents.😉

He's clearly never heard of the 'Alehouse Brawlers' 🥊🥊

[Sheaf Saint]

9 hours ago, The Cat said:

Arsenal fans moaning about Saints players being too aggressive is a bit of a stretch considering what Paul Davis did to Glenn Cockerill.

And probably 95% of those bitching on Twitter about it are too young to even know who those two are anyway.

[John B]

1 hour ago, alehouseboys said:

He's clearly never heard of the 'Alehouse Brawlers' 🥊🥊

They were great fifty years ago big John was my favorite but other teams especially Leeds had plenty of brawlers too I was recently watching a programme abou Jack Charlton blatantly kicking the shit out of Ossie by the touchline.

 

Who could ever forget our own George Kirby causing mayhem fouling all and sundry 

 

I remember  once George caused three Swansea players to be on the floor at the same time with our trainer having to help one of them

 

Those days are over and some referees will no doubt behave quite differently to how our CBs played on Sunday

[CB Fry]

9 hours ago, The Cat said:

Arsenal fans moaning about Saints players being too aggressive is a bit of a stretch considering what Paul Davis did to Glenn Cockerill.

32 years ago. You might as well consider the violence of the First World War as well.

[John Boy Saint]

10 hours ago, The Cat said:

Arsenal fans moaning about Saints players being too aggressive is a bit of a stretch considering what Paul Davis did to Glenn Cockerill.

Met Glenn at a dinner function at SMS, I asked him about that day. He said he didn’t know what triggered it, and especially from Davis “as he is one of the nicest people you could meet” - he went on to say that he didn’t know his jaw was broken until he got home and found he couldn’t eat his fish and chip supper.

[davefizzy14]

Absolutely brilliant point for us. We deserved that Lyanco, Caleta-Car, Perraud, Salisu were all quality. Moi brilliant goal saving block and sublime assist for Stuart's cool finish. Bazunu made some great stops too and is commanding. Five points from three games is a very nice return, hopefully can carry this onto Saturday - COYR