Dan takes a look at the game against Arsenal, an important game for both sides in terms of league position.

On Wednesday night, Saints take on Arsenal in one of their two upcoming games in hand at St.Mary’s. Southampton earned a valuable point at Anfield after a resilient performance which saw Fraser Forster make his first penalty save of the season. On the other hand, their counterparts Arsenal beat a reserve Manchester United side 2-0 who were more focused on their Europa League semi-final on Thursday, in which they have a 1-0 lead. Arsenal have been criticised heavily since the turn of the calendar year and have recently lost to some teams in the same region as Saints; Southampton could be another mid-table side that they lose to.

Southampton’s home form has been extremely disappointing this season with just six wins from 16 league games at St.Mary’s so far this season. Furthermore, recent form hasn’t been too encouraging either with just five points picked up from their last possible fifteen (albeit three of those five games were against top four contenders). It is without a doubt that the team are on the beach already and not thinking about their remaining four league games with survival guaranteed but should look to achieve a fourth consecutive top-eight finish as they are just three points off of West Brom with a game in hand. A win against Arsenal would put Saints as strong contenders to reach that milestone once again in the Premier League (which would be a huge credit to the people on and off of the pitch) but would also lift morale going into the three final games of the season.

Arsenal have been boosted by reaching the FA Cup final once again but the likeliness of a top-four finish is very faint as they are still placed in sixth. However, a win for the Gunners on the south-coast on Wednesday would put them in better shape to finish in the top-four once again. Since an embarrassing 3-0 loss away to Crystal Palace in mid-April, Arsenal have picked up nine points from a possible twelve in the league plus an extra-time victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final. Recent form for the Gunners has picked up but they have struggled against teams like Saints this season.

Prediction: I have no clue what to expect from this game but I have been told to expect some rotation from Puel. Whether he cares about this game or not I’m not sure but I know for a fact that Arsenal don’t need to start resting players for their final yet and still have the possibility of qualifying for the Champions League. We usually do alright against Arsenal at St.Mary’s in the league despite being battered 5-0 by them in the FA Cup back in January (even though we played loads of reserves). I will be happy with a point but would not be surprised if we won the game as it would be so Southampton to win after poor recent results. I’ll go for a 2-2 but I want the players to know that it could make a difference finishing eighth compared to tenth.

Photo: Action Images

LordDZLucan added 12:28 - May 9 Eighth gives us Europa League football for the third season running if Man Utd win the Europa League. An early start to the season I know if we get the last place but we'd be playing pre-season friendlies anyway to get match sharp so why not go for it!
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saintpp added 12:34 - May 9 LordLucan are you sure about that? I heard as 5 teams go into the cl only 2 go into europa? AS for the UI statement ;the players are on the beach' well thats harsh given the fight they put up to keep out liverpool
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the_saint added 12:43 - May 9 8th place does not qualify for Europe even if Man Utd win europa
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LordDZLucan added 12:50 - May 9 Just checked on Spain and Sevilla from last season and you're right, the 8th placed team which was Malaga, didn't get a place in the Europa League. The season just ended right there for me. It's down to the beach with the players!
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the_saint added 12:57 - May 9 Yep only seven teams can enter European competition used to be 8 through fair play but they stopped that the year after West Ham qualified
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halftimeorange added 13:31 - May 9 The only likely way for Saints to get a point is to keep the Gunners out. I'm reluctantly expecting another toothless outing in terms of attempts on goal. Must be fairly likely that we'll see some cameos from fringe players but I'll be pleasantly surprised if that leads to abundant scoring on our part.
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