Southampton picked up a big win to get their promotion push straight back on track on Friday night.
A 2-0 win over West Brom at The Hawthorns saw them bounce back from their 3-1 defeat at Bristol City in midweek at the first time of asking.
As a result, it is now just one defeat in 27 games in all competitions for Russell Martin’s side.
That victory also lifted Southampton back up to second in the Championship table, ahead of Leeds United’s trip to Plymouth Argyle on Saturday afternoon.
One player who certainly impressed during that win for the Saints in the Midlands, was Stuart Armstrong.
Saints get man of the match performance from Stuart Armstrong
Southampton took the lead 17 minutes into the game, when Ryan Fraser volleyed in a brilliant cross from Armstrong to give the visitors the lead.
The quality of that delivery from the midfielder did not go unnoticed, and nor did some of his other key contributions to the win.
Writing about Armstrong’s performance, the Daily Echo said:
“Really exceptional cross for Fraser’s opening goal and involved in the second too. A big sliding block in the box while Saints were under pressure.
“Was named man of the match by the broadcaster in the stadium – most supporters agree. Credited with the creation of five chances.”
As a result, the outlet rated the 31-year-old’s performance at a score of 9/10.
According to SofaScore, those five key passes played by Armstrong were at least three more than any other Southampton player.
Indeed, the midfielder recorded an overall pass success rate of 84% during the course of the match. Armstrong also made 12 crosses at The Hawthorns, at least ten more than any other Southampton player.
He also contributed defnsively to that win, completing one defensive action and making one clearance while he was on the pitch.
Southampton must start Stuart Armstrong when fit
This performance from Armstrong, came after he had dropped to the bench from the start in Tuesday night’s defeat to Bristol City.
With the midfielder back in the starting lineup for such a vital game, Southampton massively enjoyed his influence both on and off the ball.
That was evidently vital in what could have been a really tough game, given the Baggies will have been going into this one on a high.
However, Armstrong helped to shut down any potential threat they posed, while also making things happen for Southampton themselves.
It was therefore, an outstanding performance on and off the ball for the midfielder, that showed how important he is to this side.
As a result, it feels hard to see how Southampton can avoid starting Armstrong now, if he is available to play.