Friday night fever

Heading into the match against Arsenal I find myself with a bizarre sense of excitement. For starters it’s Friday night football, perfect excuse for a beer and a curry, and in theory the result is redundant. Not in the sense of the fixture being a “free hit” but either Arsenal perform as we all expect, boosting my fantasy football score or Southampton pull a shock and get a result. One might say Southampton making waves in their Solent inspired kit - if you pardon the pun

With Ainsley Maitland-Niles ineligible, I’m expecting Perraud back in the side at left back with KWP on the right. Fully expect Perraud to be as exposed as Simon’s testicle [The Inbetweeners] against Saka nevertheless the traditionalist in me likes the prospect of full backs playing in their preferred positions. Up front however quite literally anything could happen. After the Aribo curveball against Palace I have no preconceived ideas about who’ll play there which actually adds to that bizarre excitement. No doubt this feeling will change once the team sheet is released. Walcott I do expect to feature, hopefully playing at the Emirates he can harness some mystical power from the turf to “roll back the years” as it were. No Adams for another game so could we even see Orsic, who was back in training this week. An evening game in London, under the lights might inspire a Dinamo Zagreb-esque performance from him that he showed against Chelsea and Spurs in previous Champions League campaigns.

This is wide eyed fanaticism granted but given the scale of the task ahead that’s all we’ve got to lean on.

While I can conjure all manner of “what-ifs” on our part the cold hard stats don’t lie. Exhibit A, the league table. Fuck. Furthermore Southampton have failed to win in 27 league games away at Arsenal, spanning back to the Highbury days. We do have a couple of League Cup wins (2014 & 2016) with thunderbolt strikes from Nathaniel Clyne and Jordy Clasie respectively. Candidates for a thunderbolt this evening though are at a premium, only Perraud and Alcaraz spring to mind.

Arm strong, substitutions weak

I thought Adam Armstrong was out of the picture having featured for the B team Friday prior but he’s the latest Selles wildcard pick. Taking up a left side midfield position rather than that of a central striker. Not that I had time really to notice this as 27 seconds in and Alcaraz smashes one past Ramsdale. 0-1! Furthermore my Walcott premonition comes true. 0-2 as he slots home from Alcaraz’s through ball. What a signing Charly is looking.

Inevitably, Saka goes past Perraud to pull back for Martenelli. 1-2. Half time sees Charly subbed off for Lyanco which is disappointing but ultimately understandable given the booking and his tendency to “get amongst it.” Lyanco thought hardly the coolest cat around. We’ll get on later to Selles’ questionable substitution but how on earth have we ended up with two CBs who had such clangers against League Two Grimsby up against the Premier League leaders. 

Humble Pie for one please! Duje Caleta-Car heads home from a corner. 1-3. Only one team in the league doesn’t win this game and luckily for Arsenal, it’s us. Bizarrely though the 5-4-1 is holding up as we approach the final 5 minutes. This is when the aforementioned dubious substitution occurs. Diallo on for Lavia. I like Diallo but you’ve got to consider game state at this point. Emirates is electric as Arsenal lay siege on our goal. It’s arguably too late in the game for fresh legs as Diallo can’t get up to the pace of the game. Surely enough Ben White and Martin Odegaard pass around him for the Norwegian to score with, in fairness, a lovely curling effort from outside the box. 2-3. Now the electricity is tangible. Bazunu parries a shot straight into the path of Saka. 3-3. JWP on his knees slamming the turf, I don’t know if we’re going to hold out here.

Thankfully Thomas Partey chooses to blast one over from 30yards out in the final few minutes. It ends 3-3. We threw away a two goal lead (twice) in the match but ultimately I’m left somewhat pleased. 

Acceptance

Mentallly I accepted relegation after our 0-1 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest on January 4th. Appreciate that’s negative but that was easily the lowest point of the season. All I’ve really wanted to see is some fight and a bit of spirit, which has certainly been lacking in a lot of fixtures. For the sake of the word count I won’t address specific games directly. 

Therefore a draw away at the league leaders resembles a success even if the manner of which is slightly disappointing. In terms of immediate positives, we managed three goals in a league game for only a second time this season. In addition we’ve got Alcaraz. He continues to impress, arguably second best signing of the season - the mercurial Lavia taking the top spot. We’ve got Bednarek exhibiting a Darth Vader style redemption arc, acting as an assistant manager after his substitution. Perhaps masterminding the third goal from the sideline. Most surprisingly Lyanco didn’t get booked - sometimes it’s the little victories.

Yes, results didn’t exactly go our way with Leicester beating Wolves & Everton getting a point at Palace isn’t ideal but who cares. Really! For me the remainder of the season isn’t going to be determined by the question of relegation, I’d just like to be proud of my club and even the most steadfast fan will say there’s been few reasons to be proud this season. Let’s just enjoy the football that we can clearly produce when we show a bit of grit and character. Onto Bournemouth Thursday, let’s have a go at home for once please. 

As for Newcastle away on Sunday, maybe a little prayer is in order as they put 5 past Tottenham inside 20 minutes. I wonder what the betting market is like for us to concede quicker than we did in the Carabao Cup semi final at St James’s Park. This match under the stewardship of a third manager with Hassenhuttl and Jones losing the tactical battle with Howe. Hopefully third times the charm for Ruben.