Russell Martin knew he was starting to come under pressure as manager of Southampton going into the trip to Arenal.
Having been left bitterly disappointed by Southampton’s display in the 3-1 loss to Bournemouth on Monday night Russell Martin needed to see a reaction.
To help with this, Martin made four changes in personnel from the Bournemouth game as well as changing to a 5-4-1 formation.
This saw Kyle Walker-Peters, Ryan Manning, Joe Aribo and Ross Stewart come into the side at the expense of Charlie Taylor, Lesley Ugochukwu, Ryan Fraser and Max Cornet.
It was Stewart’s first start since signing in summer 2023 and yet it lasted just 27 minutes as his wretched injury luck continued with what appears to be a quadricep injury.
It was a battling display from Southampton as they defended well before taking a surprise lead through Cameron Archer.
However, it was not long util Arsenal turned the scoreline on its head with goals from Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli, before a late strike from Bukayo Saka confirmed the Saints remain on just one point after seven games.
Martin will be encouraged by the grit his players showed in a remarkably difficult fixture, though, and here are three things we learned from Southampton’s 3-1 loss to Arsenal.
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No one is out in the cold at Southampton under Russell Martin
One of the biggest surprises when the lineups were announced before kick-off was the fact that Manning was in the Southampton starting XI.
Manning was a real favourite under Martin after signing last summer but had surprisingly not made a matchday squad in the opening six Premier League matches.
Striker Paul Onuachu spent last season on loan at Trabzonspor and was expected to leave in the summer after Martin had quickly decided the man mountain of a striker was not right for his style.
However, the Nigerian was included in the squad against Bournemouth and came on against Arsenal.
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This sends a message to the large Saints squad that no player is ever out of contention regardless of whether or not they have been involved, which should mean every player is motivated to train well and take their chance.
Kyle Walker-Peters has to be in the Southampton lineup
Walker-Peters was one of Southampton’s best players last season but found himself playing on the left of the defence at the start of the season due to the performances of summer signing Yukinari Sugawara.
Martin had favoured Charlie Taylor at left-back against Ipswich Town and Bournemouth as he felt a natural left-footer gave the side more balance, meaning Walker-Peters came out of the side.
Walker-Peters was handed a recall against Arsenal in a surprise role as he played as one of the centre-backs in the back five.
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Walker-Peters is by far Southampton’s most adaptable player and he showed his importance to the side as he stepped up to the new position.
Martin must now know that he simply has to find a way for Walker-Peters to start every week.
Southampton have a chance of Premier League survival
Whilst they ultimately not get a result against Arsenal, Southampton should take some confidence from the performance.
They may have spent a lot of time defending, but Southampton were good value for their lead as they matched Arsenal’s intensity for a large chunk of the game.
The Gunners’ relentless pursuit of goals eventually broke the Saints resistance but it would certainly have been interesting to see how the game played out had they held the lead for longer than three minutes.
Martin should find plenty of positives but his side now have to take this level of performance into the rest of the season.
Should Southampton do that they will have a chance of Premier League survival this season, but it has to start in the huge home clash against Leicester City in the first game after the international break.