Put another way, they have won only once at home in the league since the end of November. A 1-0 victory over West Brom, so that form along with all the off pitch issues has risen the expectancy levels up somewhat. The good news for Arsenal is that they are missing a very key component in the heart of their central defence. Centre back Dejan Lovren is out through injury so is Gaston Ramirez. Dani Osvaldo has been suspended for headbutting his team mate in training which is very kind of him but they do have Victor Wanyama coming back into the squad for the first time in weeks as he overcomes an injury of his own. Victor was allowed to kick as many Arsenal players as humanly possible in that first game so I’m interested to see how the referee handles him this time round.

This is one of those fixtures where you can easily drop points if you are not at your best or if you make silly mistakes. A lot of people have been taking this game a little too lightly for my liking because even with all the off pitch shenanigans, the Saints have a squad of very good footballers lead by the impressive Mauricio Pochettino.

But when you look back at their results since we beat them 2-0 back on 23rd November they have had a certain dip in form. Looking at their home form since the end of November they have lost games to Aston Villa (2-3), Tottenham (2-3) and Chelsea (0-3)

Put another way, they have won only once at home in the league since the end of November. A 1-0 victory over West Brom.

So that form along with all the off pitch issues has risen the expectancy levels up somewhat. The good news for Arsenal is that they are missing a very key component in the heart of their central defence. Centre back Dejan Lovren is out through injury so is Gaston Ramirez. Dani Osvaldo has been suspended for headbutting his team mate in training which is very kind of him but they do have Victor Wanyama coming back into the squad for the first time in weeks as he overcomes an injury of his own. Victor was allowed to kick as many Arsenal players as humanly possible in that game at the Emirates so I’m interested to see how the referee handles him this time round. A nice early booking should do the trick, how about it ref?

On the Arsenal front it seems as if Jack Wilshere hasn’t traveled but Arteta, Vermaelen and Ramsey return to the squad. With Jack out you would imagine that one of Arteta or Ramsey would have to start so given that Ramsey’s injury was more serious and that he is less experienced I would be willing to guess that Arteta will start with Flamini and Rambo will make a cameo come back from the bench.

Flamini and Arteta could well open the door for Lukas Podolski in a way. Arsene is always very cautious of the balance of the team and I think Podolski has had to take a back seat to harder working or more defensive minded players. Having both Flamini and Arteta in midfield gives greater protection just from further back and it could influence Arsene’s decision to start Lukas after his brace against Coventry City.

I get the feeling that tonight’s decision on Podolski will speak volumes about his future here. He looked energetic and dynamic in the last game albeit against weaker opposition but I couldn’t imagine Arsene dropping pretty much any other player who had previously scored two good goals. If Podolski starts the game this evening then I fancy him for another goal. Mesut’s assist for our first on Friday was lovely and I am hoping to see him peak at the right time. Santi is also looking kinda on form at the moment so it bodes well I hope.

Mean Lean’s Predicted Line Up

I’d quite like to see Monreal keep his place but I wonder if Gibbo will regain his place after his come back on Friday. If Podolski doesn’t start then Santi will play left and Gnabry will continue on the right. There is so much more to come from Serge and you can almost feeling it bubbling under the surface. As Arsene says, he needs to stamp his personality on games going forward but maybe this is a season too soon for him to do that. I’d quite like Lukas to get his chance and for our loveable German to grab it with both hands. Oh and a left boot.

Given Southampton’s high pressing game, it will be interesting to see how the Arteta and Flamini midfield work. Ideally we would have a trio of Arteta, Ramsey/Wilshere and Özil to play around that. Even so, if we continue to look strong at the back then we have a chance to score goals.

Come on you mighty Gunners.