Russell Martin has the unenviable task of taking his Southampton side to The Emirates to face title-contenders Arsenal on Saturday.
After Southampton have managed just one point from their first six Premier League games of the season, you could argue an away game against Arsenal is the last thing Russell Martin needs.
Monday’s 3-1 defeat against Bournemouth was Southampton’s worst performance of the season so far and Martin bemoaned the lack of fight from his players post-match.
Southampton were second best in every department as Bournemouth raced into a 3-0 lead before half-time. It was a slightly improved second 45 minutes in which Taylor Harwood-Bellis scored, but it was an incredibly disappointing performance.
Few will give Southampton a chance at Arsenal, but Martin needs his side to show him they are willing to battle or it could get messy in North London.
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Russell Martin makes Southampton ‘mentality’ claim ahead of Arsenal
Martin has had his fair share of criticism following Southampton’s start to the season, with many pundits calling him naive for his playing style.
Whilst he will try and block out the outside noise, Martin will be aware he is under pressure as Southampton remain winless.
The Saints boss faced the media in his pre-Arsenal press conference on Thursday afternoon where he was asked about his comments on Monday that Bournemouth fouled Southampton twice as much as the Saints did them.
The question was centred around whether it was wise to make this point ahead of facing one of the best set-piece teams in the world in Arsenal, but Martin took it as an opportunity to explain the key difference between his side and the Gunners.
Martin responded: “I think Bournemouth fouled us a lot but we didn’t have many free-kicks in their final third so it depends where you foul I guess and where the contact is.
“But that wasn’t the point. I’m not saying to my team we need to foul more but there needs to be more contact than there was on Monday, especially against Arsenal because they’re one of the best at it.
“They’re one of the best in the Premier League in terms of – talent and ability everyone will talk about – but the physicality and the mentality and the aggression of the players is completely different. It’s the biggest difference.
“It’s not just talent, it’s the mentality of when they’re going into a duel they’re like ‘that’s it’, there’s only one thing that can happen and that’s they take the ball or their opponent ends up on the floor.
“I don’t think we’re quite there, we weren’t there on Monday at all. So we need to live there, because this team last year was built on being so aggressive without the ball and so aggressive with the ball.”
Southampton players could save Martin with Arsenal performance
Whilst it would be very early to give up on Martin just weeks into the season, if owners Sport Republic don’t start to see signs Southampton can pick up points soon then they may decide to act.
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Martin’s style is one that requires patience but that is something football owners famously lack and the worry of being relegated could see Sport Republic get twitchy.
Whilst the lack of points is a real worry, what will be more concerning will be if the Southampton players again fail to fight and battle for each other and their manager.
If they are unable to do this against Arsenal on Saturday then that may well spell at the very least the beginning of the end for Martin.