Southampton were beaten 3-1 by Arsenal in the Premier League and Micah Richards was critical of Russell Martin’s style.
Southampton arrived at the Emirates with just one point from their six Premier League games.
Few people, if any, fancied their fortunes changing against Arsenal but they were nearly made to eat their words as Cameron Archer gave Southampton a shock lead in the second half.
Archer – who came off the bench for the injured Ross Stewart – popped up with an unlikely goal after Russell Martin’s men defended brilliantly in their 5-4-1 formation.
The visitor’s joy was short-lived, though, as Arsenal launched a comeback to turn the game on its head thanks to goals from Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka.
In somewhat predictable circumstances, Southampton slipped to their sixth defeat of the campaign, with pressure beginning to ramp up on Martin.
Micah Richards labels one Russell Martin tactic ‘ridiculous’ vs Arsenal
Throughout the early stages of his managerial career, Martin has become known for playing possession football at all costs.
The Englishman encourages his players to play the ball out from the back and build up play slowly and methodically.
It’s a tactic that worked extremely well in the Championship, as his side were given more time on the ball, but continuing with the same style in the Premier League is proving costly.
Flynn Downes, as an example, gave the ball away cheaply in his own half to Saka and he slid the ball through to Havertz, who made no mistake with his finish to equalise.
Southampton didn’t need to continue playing out from the back while leading the game and could have gone a bit more direct but that mistake handed the hosts the invitation to go on and win the game.
Former Manchester City defender thinks that when Martin’s style doesn’t work, it looks ‘ridiculous’, while he also referenced the difficulty of translating such a brand of football in the top-flight.
“When it works for Southampton it looks really good. When it doesn’t, it looks ridiculous,” Richards said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“But that’s what the manager wants them to do and he is sticking to his principles.
“Russell Martin is playing players who are comfortable doing it but doing it in the Championship and doing it in the Premier League are two very different things.”
Russell Martin showing naivety in the Premier League
Southampton will take positives from their defeat to Arsenal as they defended resolutely for most of the game and Archer was clinical when the opportunity arrived.
However, it’s the same old errors that continue to cost the Saints any chance of points. When Sam Morsy scored a late equaliser to deny Southampton three points, it was the players switching off from a corner that hurt them.
Meanwhile, in the loss to Arsenal, it was a silly pass from Downes that handed Arsenal a route back into the game. These mistakes often went unpunished in the Championship last season but against world-class players, they’re no longer afforded the same luxury.
Martin will feel that he executed his game plan well by frustrating the Gunners for the first hour but the game ultimately ended in the same outcome; a defeat.
If Southampton are to stand any chance of remaining in the Premier League, the former Swansea City manager will need to consider relying less on their build up play from defence, otherwise, their survival chances are looking bleak.