Chronicle Editor
London – Unai Emery praised Arsenal’s intensity after they leap-frogged Manchester United to move into the Premier League’s top four with a 2-0 win over Southampton on Sunday.
Emery’s much-changed team were on cruise control at the Emirates Stadium thanks to early goals by Alexandre Lacazette and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
And now the Arsenal manager hopes his players can maintain that intensity as a congested fixture list forces him into further squad rotation.
Emery made five changes to the starting line-up that beat Bate Borisov 3-0 in the Europa League on Thursday and he expects to make more for Wednesday’s home league game against Bournemouth.
“This is the moment we can use fresh players with energy and quality,” he said.
“We need to mix to save players because we are going to play a lot of matches.
“It’s important to give good performances like today’s even when we have to change some players in the first eleven.
“On Thursday I was very proud of them in a dangerous match and today we decided to make some changes and it is very important that we carried on our intensity and our performance with different players.”
There was some risk in that approach. Although in the bottom three, Southampton had lost only one of their previous six league matches.
They had also been the team that ended Arsenal’s 22-game unbeaten run with a 3-2 victory at St Mary’s in December – which Emery admitted had provided extra motivation for his men.
But while Saints were lively going forward, some of their defenders looked as if they were still on the beach in Tenerife, where they had spent a week of warm-weather training.
The sixth minute summed them up. Jan Bednarek’s pass sent Nathan Redmond through on goal and he cut inside Shkodran Mustafi only to see his left-foot shot blocked by Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
The ball was played to the other end, where the unmarked Mkhitaryan volleyed Alex Iwobi’s cross back into the centre.
It hit an offside-looking Lacazette and bounced past Southampton goalkeeper, Angus Gunn.
“They have fast attacking players like Redmond and in their first action they found space behind our defenders, but you need your goalkeeper sometimes and Leno played well today and helped us a lot,” Emery said.
Leno also had to deal with a fierce cross-shot from Matt Targett before Arsenal doubled their lead in the 17th minute thanks to a gift from the visitors’ defence.
Jack Stephens played a difficult backpass to Gunn, whose clearance fell to Iwobi 30 yards out.
Mkhitaryan drilled Iwobi’s cross first-time between Gunn and his near post.
Lacazette went on to miss four chances to add to the lead, which could prove costly with goal difference a possible factor in Champions League qualification and only two goals between Arsenal, Chelsea and United.
“We could have won by a bigger difference than two goals but if we keep playing with this intensity then goals will come,” Emery said.
“My problem is when we cannot create chances.”
Southampton changed to a more compact formation in the second half, but the Gunners continued to create and miss opportunities.
“We had the first big chance, a very big chance and from the counterattack we went 1-0 down,”
Southampton manager Ralf Hasenhuttl said.
“That was the worst thing that could happen. The second goal was a horrible mistake in a zone where you can’t make mistakes.
“In the second half we changed the shape and broke their rhythm. It could have been interesting if we had scored.”
Meanwhile, Claude Puel has spoken of his “honour” at being given the opportunity to manage Leicester following his sacking at the weekend.
The 57-year-old Frenchman’s 16-month reign came to an end after Saturday’s 4-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace, Leicester’s sixth defeat in seven matches.
During that run the club have been knocked out of the FA Cup by Newport and dropped down to 12th in the Premier League, eight points above the relegation zone.
“I would like to thank everyone that I worked with at Leicester City Football Club,” Puel said in a statement released through the League Managers’ Association on Monday.
“It was a privilege to work with the players, the staff and the management.
“It was my honour to work for the late and much-loved Khun Vichai, who gave me the fantastic opportunity to manage his club and share some great moments with him.
“My mission at Leicester City Football Club ends here but I will continue to follow the performances of the team and wish the club all the best for the future.”
Puel is the fifth English top-flight manager to leave his post this season, following Slavisa Jokanovic from Fulham, Mark Hughes (Southampton), Jose Mourinho (Manchester United) and David Wagner (Huddersfield).
The former Premier League champions have endured a traumatic season with the death of owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others in a helicopter crash outside the club’s King Power Stadium in October.
Celtic manager and former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is reported to be among the frontrunners to replace Puel, with reports suggesting the club may appoint an interim manager until the end of the season.
Fixtures
Tuesday:
-Cardiff City v Everton (Cardiff City Stadium 21:45)
-Leicester City v Brighton & Hove Albion (King Power Stadium 21:45)
-Huddersfield Town v Wolverhampton Wanderers (The John Smith’s Stadium 21:45)
-Newcastle United v Burnley (St. James’ Park 22:00).
Wednesday:
-Arsenal v AFC Bournemouth (Emirates Stadium 21:45)
-Southampton v Fulham (St. Mary’s Stadium 21:45)
-Liverpool v Watford (Anfield 22:00)
-Manchester City v West Ham United (Etihad Stadium 22:00)
-Crystal Palace v Manchester United (Selhurst Park 22:00)
-Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur (Stamford Bridge 22:00).
English Premiership table
P W L D PTS
1 Liverpool 27 20 1 6 66
2 Manchester City 27 21 4 2 65
3 Tottenham Hotspur 27 20 7 0 60
4 Arsenal 27 16 6 5 53
5 Manchester United 27 15 5 7 52
6 Chelsea 26 15 6 5 50
7 Watford 27 11 9 7 40
8 Wolves 27 11 9 7 40
9 West Ham United 27 10 11 6 36
10 AFC Bournemouth 27 10 13 4 34
11 Everton 27 9 12 6 33
12 Leicester City 27 9 13 5 32
13 Crystal Palace 27 8 13 6 30
14 Burnley 27 8 13 6 30
15 Newcastle United 27 7 13 7 28
16 Brighton & Hove Albion 26 7 13 6 27
17 Cardiff City 27 7 16 4 25
18 Southampton 27 5 13 9 24
19 Fulham 27 4 18 5 17
20 Huddersfield Town 27 2 20 5 11
— AFP.
Online Reporter