Southampton 2-0 Arsenal: (Not so) instant reaction

That was, to be slightly more diplomatic than I should be, a mess.  Arsenal played OK - not great, but not terribly - for a lot of the first hour of the game. The first half was better than the second, but they worked hard, they passed reasonably well, and they looked up for the challenge.

And then the defense happened. And happened again.  And just like that, two comically inept defending efforts later, it was 2-0 to the Saints and the game kinda petered out a bit. Soton are very tough at home, and in the second half they shut Arsenal down very effectively; Arsenal huffed and puffed to no great effect, and never once looked like they were threatening to get back in the game. But Theo played, so that's a thing.

Normally, I'd be all over the missed red card incident, but when Arsenal defend like they did today, it just doesn't matter. Arsenal didn't defend well enough to win, not even close, and when that happens I can't get too upset about what was a fairly clear red card.

On to the Cup this weekend, and the starters will finally get some rest.