
The new boys are both in the starting line up for today's match with Southampton at the Emirates, the surprise is that both Xhaka and Alexis take their places on the bench, I suppose that is just a consequence of the international football that has been on show in the last week. With Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lucas in our front three we have plenty of pace and mobility so it will be interesting to see how that gels together. Our bench also looks nice and strong so we have plenty options if need be.
Lets hope for three points and an entertaining Arsenal performance.

Southampton have been dealing with a few teething problems this season. They have a new manager, have sold a couple of their best players including one of John Cross’ favourites Victor Wanyama. They have also switched to a diamond shape which has taken some getting used to. That being the case, I wonder if we will look to exploit the flanks a little bit. If Kieran Gibbs comes in for Nacho Monreal for example then you would have to assume that Arsene is very much setting his team up for the opposition. With the Saints midfield likely to be quite narrow, you would imagine that our full backs will be more able to saunter up the pitch and provide our width for the afternoon a little more than usual.

With both the style of play and the location being two of the key factors, it seems quite logical that Wilshere should attempt to resurrect his faltering career on the south coast under the stewardship of Eddie Howe. Howe transformed the club from top to toe, not dissimilar to Wenger, and implemented a style of play that is both pleasing on the eye and somewhat effective given the limited personnel at his disposal. A midfield assortment of Andrew Surman, Nathan Ake, Harry Arter and Lewis Cook provides plenty of graft and tenacity but very little in the way of tangible talent on the ball. It would seem counterproductive for Wilshere to go to a club where he is rotation with players. A starting berth whilst not guaranteed, is more than likely at Bournemouth as Eddie Howe looks to add a touch of flair to his midfield of spirited grafters
![]()
In today's Arsenal Vision Post Match Podcast: Elliot (@YankeeGunner), James (@GoonerFanatic49) and Paul (@PoznanInMyPants) talk about Arsenal’s first victory of the season against the Hornets. The pod talk about the midfield quality, Oxlade-Chamberlain’s form, the new boys and more in this weeks Arsenal Vision podcast

It felt like the difference was tempo and speed. Cazorla for all his wonder maybe just doesn't quite have it in to playing the 10 anymore. But putting him next to Xhaka and letting Ozil do his beautiful work just frees things up completely. And Theo was surprisingly all over. I saw some on Twitter make the comment about how we would have had even more goals with a serious winger in Ox's place. Seems pretty spot on. #WelcomeLucas

Watford were not able to get Igalho and Deeney into the game for that very reason. We had a lot more of the ball and whenever Watford gained possession we forced them into mistakes.
The penalty was a definite penalty even if I did’t know it had been awarded at the time. Not a fan of penalties being stuck low down the middle but I’m a big fan of Arsenal penalties going in so I’ll more than take Cazorla’s early strike.
The penalty was all about the quality of Mesut Ozil. We needed the breakthrough at Leicester City last weekend but missed Mesut’s brilliance, this time his left footed floater was heading towards Alexis before the Watford player stupidly lead with his elbow on our forward.

Which is good news in my opinion. With those three in the heart of our team you'd think we will be able to use the ball fairly well and hopefully create a host of chances. In fact it is pretty damn exciting at least in terms of us on the ball. How we do without the ball might be interesting perhaps.

You know what I am excited about? Watching Mesut Özil and Granit Xhaka combine for the first time. If ever a deep lying midfielder and number 10 were suited, it was these two guys. Xhaka is great at finding his team mates between the lines in advanced positions while Özil is the master of finding spaces in between the lines

The question was always a case of when rather than if, the other question was also about quality, and it turns out that we've plumped for off the radar forward Lucas Perez. How many times have we seen that before? Linked to all sorts of people that folk talk about day and night, only for Arsenal to buy the player nobody was talking about all summer.
![]()
In today's Arsenal Vision Post Match Podcast: Elliot (@YankeeGunner), Tim (@Stillberto) and Paul (@PoznanInMyPants) talk about the 0-0 draw against last seasons champions. Francis Coquelin, Alexis Sanchez, Arsene Wenger's post match comments and fan unrest all discussed in today's Post Match Podcast