{"id":6835,"date":"2022-10-22T10:23:40","date_gmt":"2022-10-22T09:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=6835"},"modified":"2022-10-24T00:12:11","modified_gmt":"2022-10-23T23:12:11","slug":"something-to-prove-against-the-saints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=6835","title":{"rendered":"Something to Prove Against The Saints"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;\"><div style=\"padding:0;margin:0;text-align:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1435246773\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div><div style=\"overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:81.986534% 0 0 0;width:100%;\"><iframe src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/1435246773?et=qS4AGeKgTXZB74nZ6ufpWw&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=nMlNTISsPc4rsMKumM-YxOOtMQdMSlsVw-g-RVrK5Ko=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"594\" height=\"487\" style=\"display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>When I put my hand up to write this one, I could hardly have hoped that we would find ourselves in such a strong position by the time it rolled round. We really are flying and, despite a recent run of three 1-0 victories which haven\u2019t been uniformly wonderful, we keep coming away with three points, which is a great habit to get into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At some point this bubble will burst. Sorry folks, but 13 victories from 14 matches played this term is not the sort of form that lasts forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The question is when though?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And are Southampton currently looking like the side to draw some of the rosiness from our cheeks?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At first glance the answer appears to be negative. They have 11 points from 11 games, and in their last game, a 1-0 victory of their own against Bournemouth, they took a much needed three points for the first time since they turned Chelsea over 2-1 at the end of August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This has eased the sort of lazy chatter about Hasenhuttl\u2019s job that seems to buzz around any Premier League manager whose team are going through a rough patch, such is the turnover rate these days. As Stevie G finds himself the goose in this particular circle of sitting ducks, Mr Rabbit Hutch himself will be grateful that few visitors to St Mary\u2019s arrive in such formidable form as the Mighty Arsenal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Southampton<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Apparently, they are without ex-Spud Kyle Walkers-Peters, who has a hamstring injury. The BBC also tells me that Romeo Lavia is back in training but not ready to feature in a match. Coincidentally, the same player does not feature anywhere in my little grey cells either &#8211; I\u2019ve no idea who the bloke is. Wherefore art thou Romeo? Indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They will have James Ward-Prowse and his excellent deliveries to feed off, so we will have to be disciplined in our tackling and defending of the set pieces that they will inevitably win and whip into the box. Hoping to provide rescue and recovery for a team who have played most of the season with the handbrake on will be the AAA attack of Adams, Armstrong and Aribo: Hard working players who are solid at this level, but perhaps not as fearsome as some strike forces we will play this season. If only the Saints had been successful in their pursuit of Cody Gakpo, he would be just the sort of player who could damage us. Oh! Wait. What? Never mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The young keeper Bazunu impressed me when I saw him play a few weeks ago, but he is still very raw at this level. Caleta-Car was signed from Marseille and made his second start in central defence last time out, and he will probably continue there, especially as Bella-Kotchap (who has been getting good reviews all season and earned a Germany call up) is out with a shoulder injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been playing in central midfield next to JW-P, so they will have to find a replacement as I assume he is ineligible to play against us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Arsenal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is nothing much new on the injuries front, so it seems we have a full squad to choose from, although Zinchenko might be available \u2013 Arteta was typically coy on the subject. After his recent comments when asked about how much he plays Saka, I assume we can expect him to start. I also assume that Arteta will secretly consider him lazy for only playing one position on the pitch. You see the top, top players? They play centre back and right-wing in the same match and they are constantly banging on my door, asking for the raw entrails of their shredded victims to feed on. That\u2019s the sort of hunger the gaffer wants to see at Arsenal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">I\u2019ll take a punt on this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Rambo<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomi<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Partey, Xhaka<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Saka, \u00d8degaard, Gabi<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Jes\u00fas<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve got a feeling that at some point KT3 will start on the left side of defence and Tomi will get a Prem start at right back with White given a breather. And, when fit, Zinchenko will be back in the rotation too. Arteta trusts all his options in these positions, so I\u2019m not worried about this area, but it is the only place where I\u2019m not sure what he will do. Right now, if he changes any other personnel, it would be a surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vieira looks closest to nabbing a starting berth, but he has showed so far this season that he has work to do on his fitness and his attitude and intensity when it comes to the press, as TTG alluded to in his report of Thursday night\u2019s win over PSV. The new lad has plenty of time to improve on these things but, coupled with his tendency to drift out of games, which is the very opposite approach taken by our perennially involved captain, the Norwegian does not have any more pressure on his place than Eddie puts on Gabriel Jesus. An able back-up, but not more than that at the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The holics\u2019 pound<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we all know, there are only tough games at this level and any team is capable of punishing a lack of focus \u2013 we got turned over at St Mary\u2019s last year and it cost us. However, one of the most gratifying aspects of our current run is the intention and commitment we are showing in every match. We are a much more robust proposition than we have been for a long time, which was even true during a second half against Leeds when we defended doggedly despite being unable to string three passes together when we got the ball back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, I expect us to take another three points from a tight game against a side who will be working hard not to give us any encouragement. I am going to go with an optimistic 2-0 win, including both a clean sheet and a two goal winning margin, which our recent excellent form keeps down to a meagre 7\/1 from William Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is a tough one to call though. Gabriel Jes\u00fas will probably feel that he should have a couple more goals to his name so far this season, and if he gets his shooting boots on tomorrow it could be more comfortable. That said, this could be a cagey affair and I\u2019d be happy with another win by a single goal that would keep our momentum up and see us successfully navigate another away day fixture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whatever happens in the match, we will end it on top of the Premier League. We have earned that position. Now we have to keep earning it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enjoy the game, wherever you are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have a good one \u2018holics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embed from Getty Images When I put my hand up to write this one, I could hardly have hoped that we would find ourselves in such a strong position by the time it rolled round. We really are flying and, despite a recent run of three 1-0 victories which haven\u2019t been uniformly wonderful, we keep [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6835"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6835"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6847,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6835\/revisions\/6847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}