Southampton v. Arsenal: match thread

Southampton vs. Arsenal
Kickoff: Tuesday, January 1, 2013, 1230 PM EST
St. Mary's Stadium, Southampton, Hampshire, Engerland, United Kingdom
Form: SOU LWLDD, 18th place | ARS WDWWW, 5th place
Reverse fixture: ARS 6 - 1 SOTON
Television: ESPN3.com/ESPN Deportes

The lead-up to the first match of 2013 for the Arsenal see them in much better form both on-and-off the pitch. Four straight league wins has helped many get past the abysmal stretch of recent matches, and there isn't too much in the way of injury news to speak about.

/knocks on every piece of lumber and wood product within a three-block radius

The lineups have been announced and Arsenal will field the same starting 11 we saw versus Newcastle a few days ago. Due to miss today's encounter is Andre Santos (pulled stomach muscle), Lukas Fabianksi (back) and Abou Diaby (being Abou Diaby). While Arsenal swept aside the Saints with relative ease earlier this season, nothing should ever be taken for granted, and they catch a minor break today with Saints captain, midfielder Adam Lallana, still struggling with a knee injury suffered in their match against Reading back on December 8th.

Southampton: Boruc, Cork, Fonte, Yoshida, Shaw, Puncheon, Schneiderlin, S. Davis, Guly, Ramirez, Lambert

Subs: Davis, Hooiveld, Rodriguez, Ward-Prowse, Richardson, Mayuka, De Ridder

Arsenal: Szezesny, Sagna, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Gibbs, Arteta, Wilshere, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cazorla, Podolski, Walcott

Subs: Martinez, Mertesacker, Coquelin, Ramsey, Rosicky, Gervinho, Giroud

At typing, Tottenham just moved ahead of Reading 2-1, so a win today for Arsenal will keep them in position to take advantage of their game-in-hand. Feel free to comment on all the action below. Remember: no links to illegal streams (especially true today since the match won't be readily-available to all of us - including me), always always use the subject line, and above all else, be kind to one another!