Arsenal travel to the St Mary’s Stadium this weekend to take on Southampton in the 4th Round of the FA Cup and according to pundit Michael Owen, the Saints should be able to knock out the Gunners.
Owen believes the Saints are a well-drilled side under Ralph Hasenhuttl and they have the power and prowess on counter attacks to send Mikel Arteta’s side packing on Saturday.
He wrote for BetVictor: “I think both these sides will fancy their chances of a cup run, so we could see near full strength sides at St. Mary’s.
“Arsenal have certainly turned the corner. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang notched a double against Newcastle last Monday and that will come as such a welcome sight to Gunners followers.
“Southampton have suffered a bit in recent weeks with a few absentees. At full strength they work as an excellent unit. Ralph Hasenhüttl will again have his side well drilled and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he gave up some territory.
“If he does so, I think Southampton have enough on the counter-attack to nick this one in what I’d expect to be cagey affair.”
The Saints have been in fine form in the Premier League this season and after 18 games, Hasenhuttl’s side are two points above the Gunners on the table having played one less match.
Southampton will undoubtedly give a tough fight to the Gunners on Saturday but we doubt if they will be able to come out on top since the Saints have a long list of injury absentees.
Danny Ings will return to the squad after recovering from COVID but the likes of Vestergaard, Redmond, Oriol Romeu and Djenepo are also going to miss out due to injuries.
Also, Arsenal have been on a winning run since their 3-1 victory over Chelsea on Boxing Day and this momentum should be enough to see them through to overcome the Saints challenge and take them to the next round.
