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Arsenal travel to St. Mary’s Stadium tomorrow for a matchup with mid-table Southampton. The Gunners are looking to put the memory of their disappointing 3-1 defeat to Manchester United in the rear view mirror and climb back up into the Champions League spots.
The south coast has not been kind to the Gunners - Arsenal have won one of their last six away to Southampton. A big part of that record is Fraser Forster. He has conceded a total of five goals in his last five games against Arsenal despite facing 30 shots.
That’s a worrisome statistic for the Gunners’ who have had trouble converting their chances this season.
Arsenal have gotten 30 big chances on target but only turned 13 of those into goals. That's at 43.3% conversion rate and 2nd worst in the premier league.
— Scott Willis (@oh_that_crab) December 8, 2017
Arsenal seem to be going for the volume method when it comes to chances - they’re second in the league in terms of creating them. If you generate enough opportunities, you’ll eventually (maybe) score. Right? Wouldn’t it be great if Arsenal weren’t quite so wasteful?
Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino has been rotating his strikers unpredictably this season, but he may be missing the services of Shane Long tomorrow. That means it will be either Charlie Austin or Manolo Gabbiadini as the lone striker. The Saints will also likely be without preferred right back Cédric Soares, so look for Sead Kolašinac and Alexis Sánchez to find some joy down that side.
Shkodran Mustafi has been ruled out with the thigh injury he picked up last weekend. Per Mertesacker is his most likely replacement. Of course, Santi Cazorla remains out long term.
With how tight the table is around third and fourth place, it feels as if this is yet another must-win game for Arsenal. Goodness, we are writing that about every game these days - it’s exhausting. But with razor-thin margins for error, just imagine what it must feel like for the players.
WHAT: Arsenal @ Southampton
WHEN: Sunday, December 10th 4 AM PT | 7 AM ET | Noon BT
WHERE: St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton
US TV: NBCSN, stream here.
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