Arsenal lost their unbeaten streak at the hands of Southampton this afternoon.
Unai Emery took Arsenal to St. Mary’s Stadium with plenty of confidence, however, that didn’t transcend onto the pitch. Two Danny Ings goals were cancelled out by two Henrikh Mkhitaryan goals. While Arsenal was pushing for the win late on, they were caught out by Shane Long, who crossed it into, you guessed it, Charlie Austin. What can the Gunners learn from this painful late loss to the Saints?
1. Forget the narrative, Laurent Koscielny was horrendous
Credit where it’s due, Koscielny managed to play the much-needed 90 minutes. After coming back from a lengthy injury, this is always hard to do and it was especially important for Unai Emery as a number of his defenders were unavailable.
However, he shouldn’t be commended for his performance. Understandably so, he was absolutely woeful out there. He was largely at fault for the two first-half goals because he didn’t give Ings much of a duel. Not the kind of performance you would expect from a captain.
Koscielny is often reliable for the Gunners, this performance wasn’t indicative of his ability. On his day, he would have provided Ings with greater challenges. He just needs some time to integrate himself back into the lineup, especially the back three.
I believe that Koscielny will come good given time but Arsenal can cut their homecoming celebrations short. He was dreadful today and he should make the most of his inevitable rest against Tottenham in midweek.