Southampton vs Arsenal LIVE!

Arsenal’s faltering quest for Champions League qualification suffered another setback after they slipped to an uninspiring 1-0 Premier League loss at Southampton.

Tottenham’s shock home defeat to Brighton in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off offered the Gunners the chance to move level on points with their fourth-placed north London rivals.

But Mikel Arteta’s men blew a major opportunity to capitalise at St Mary’s as Jan Bednarek’s strike on the stroke of half-time condemned them to a fourth defeat from five games.

The Gunners found Fraser Forster in inspired form, with the Southampton goalkeeper making stunning saves to deny Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe.

Arsenal still have game in hand over Spurs, albeit that’s an extremely tough trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea in midweek. The latest slip-up provides further encouragement for fellow top-four hopefuls Manchester United, who edged past Norwich thanks to a hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Everything you need to know ahead of the game

• GOAL! Bednarek sweeps home side in front

• Can I watch live on TV In the UK?

• Southampton lineup

• Arsenal lineup

• Evening Standard score prediction

Southampton FC 1 - 0 Arsenal FC

17:04 , Matt Verri

Painful afternoon for the Gunners.

They are now down in sixth, with Man United moving above them on goal-difference with victory over Norwich.

Both sides three points behind Tottenham though Arsenal have a game in hand. That comes this week away to Chelsea.

FT: Southampton 1-0 Arsenal

16:53 , Matt Verri

It’s three straight defeats from Arsenal, a disastrous run that has done huge damage to their top-four hopes.

Gunners can’t take advantage of Tottenham’s slip-up earlier today... Jan Bednarek the match-winner for Southampton.

16:51 , Matt Verri

90+3 mins: Arsenal cannot get anything going, their possession isn’t leading to the clear-cut chances they needed.

Odegaard and Smith Rowe look to inject some pace, too many defenders back though. Martinelli tries his luck from distance... miles over.

16:48 , Matt Verri

90 mins: Five minutes added on.

White hauls down Elyounoussi, gets a yellow card and that will kill at least a minute.

16:46 , Matt Verri

88 mins: Long has the ball as Southampton launch a rare counter.

He stops, goes to ground looking for a cheap free-kick. Referee doesn’t fall for it.

16:43 , Matt Verri

85 mins: Xhaka with the powerful strike... blocked. Comes back to him, much-better effort.. Forster denies him!

Incredible performance from the goalkeeper. It was curling away from him but he stretched out a left hand.

16:41 , Matt Verri

83 mins: Romeu with a late challenge on Lokonga, shoves into him mid-air. Free-kick Arsenal.

Visitors are building the pressure but they are running out of time. Got to find a grandstand finish from somewhere.

16:39 , Matt Verri

81 mins: FORSTER AGAIN!

Arsenal getting sick of the sight of the Southampton goalkeeper. Saka lashes a right-footed strike at goal, Forster stands tall and denies him.

Odegaard then works the space brilliantly, drags a shot just though.

16:37 , Matt Verri

79 mins: Odegaard tries to drive into the box, Armstrong gets across though. Concedes the corner.

Forster is there to punch it away, but Lyanco is in front of him to flick the header away.

16:34 , Matt Verri

76 mins: Lokonga penalised for a foul on Armstrong... two players both lunged in for the challenge but it’s Southampton who get the decision.

A chance for Arteta to call his players over, as Armstrong gets some treatment.

16:31 , Matt Verri

73 mins: Forster is keeping at Arsenal at bay!

Ball drops invitingly for Smith Rowe in the box, his effort is a scuffed one which could wrong-foot Forster, but he dives to his left and at full stretch keeps it out. Great goalkeeping.

16:29 , Matt Verri

72 mins: Xhaka swings a nice cross into the box, Pepe with an acrobatic effort as the ball comes in behind him.

Does well to make anything out of it, but can’t divert it goalwards.

16:27 , Matt Verri

70 mins: Pepe on to replace Tavares.

Arteta throwing everything at this now, he has no choice. Saka runs at Perraud, trips on the ball and Southampton clear. That about sums it up for the Gunners.

16:25 , Matt Verri

67 mins: More than 80% possession in the second-half from Arsenal - that counts for nothing though.

Lokonga lumps a hopeful ball forward to Martinelli, who does well to cause a nuisance and Saka wins the knock-down.

Gunners continue to play it side-to-side... don’t look like finding a way through.

16:22 , Matt Verri

64 mins: Saka decides to try and do it all himself and very nearly does!

Picks it up on the right wing, drifts inside past three challenges and fires an effort towards the far corner. Forster at full stretch but he was relatively confident that was always going wide.

16:19 , Matt Verri

61 mins: Odegaard clips the ball into the box, drops for Smith Rowe. He catches the strike really cleanly but it’s blocked... but Martinelli.

Looks like Tavares and Saka as the wing backs, with Xhaka dropping into a back three.

16:18 , Matt Verri

60 mins: An hour gone and Arteta turns to his bench for the first time - not exactly a straight swap!

Cedric off, Smith Rowe on to replace him. Saka has gone out to the right for now, will see if it stays like that.

16:15 , Matt Verri

58 mins: Great effort from Nketiah, nearly makes something out of nothing.

Cedric’s cross is not a great one, behind Nketiah but he flicks it towards the back post and it flies just wide.

16:14 , Matt Verri

56 mins: White caught late by Broja and that will be a yellow card for the Southampton man. Completely unnecessary.... very little contact too.

Simon Collings at St Mary’s

16:12 , Matt Verri

Arteta needs to change this. Arsenal have 35 minutes to go and they still look blunt up top. Pepe and Smith Rowe are out warming up.

16:12 , Matt Verri

54 mins: Broja played in behind... no, offside flag up.

There’s a lot of space there for the Southampton players when they do win it back, Arsenal look vulnerable.

16:09 , Matt Verri

51 mins: Lokonga plays it through to Odegaard and he has plenty of space to drive into.

Slides the pass through to Nketiah, forced a bit wide so he looks for the cut back. Easily defended.

Arsenal back on the attack, Tavares on his right foot goes for goal from 25 yards out. Still rising.

16:07 , Matt Verri

49 mins: Tavares fires a shot at goal, takes a flick off a defender and behind for a corner.

Goes to the near post, White flicks it on... none of his teammates there to get on the end of it though.

16:06 , Matt Verri

48 mins: Southampton happy to sit back and let the Gunners have the ball. Onus on them to do something with it.

Cedric swings the cross in, bobbles through a couple of defenders but then rolls back to Forster. Xhaka couldn’t control it.

Back underway!

16:03 , Matt Verri

Up and running again at St Mary’s.

Crucial moment just before the break

15:59 , Matt Verri

15:55 , Matt Verri

Well then... Arsenal 45 minutes away from three straight defeats.

Tottenham’s slip-up against Brighton earlier today left the door open for the Gunners, but they haven’t been able to go through it.

Still time to turn it around but a big improvement is needed.

HT: Southampton 1-0 Arsenal

15:49 , Matt Verri

And that’s half-time, with the Saints one goal to the good.

Bednarek’s late strike gives them the lead and leaves Arsenal with lots to sort out. The Gunners have been better this afternoon, but that counts for nothing.

Simon Collings at St Mary’s

15:47 , Matt Verri

A hammer blow to Arsenal just before the break. It’s a pretty scrappy and poor goal to concede too.

GOAL! Southampton 1-0 Arsenal | Jan Bednarek 45'

15:46 , Matt Verri

SOUTHAMPTON TAKE THE LEAD!

Disaster for Arsenal on the verge of half-time, they couldn’t fully clear their lines.

Ball cut back into the box, Bednarek completely free at the near post and he sweeps it past Ramsdale.

15:45 , Matt Verri

44 mins: White gives away a cheap free-kick out on the left wing, dangerous position with a man like Ward-Prowse on the pitch to deliver.

Good quality on the ball as you’d expect, Broja flicks it on and hits Nketiah and rolls behind for a corner.

Ramsdale off his line to punch it away.

15:43 , Matt Verri

42 mins: Good spell this from Southampton, Arsenal being pinned back.

Walker-Peters gets in behind and looks to drill it into the six-yard box. Takes a deflection and loops up straight into Ramsdale’s arms.

15:41 , Matt Verri

40 mins: Southampton corner, Ward-Prowse swings it into the near post again but it’s headed out.

Saka then completes the job by booting it away. Bednarek down in the box, not sure there was much contact. He’s going to be fine.

Not great from Cedric on his St Mary’s return...

15:39 , Matt Verri

15:38 , Matt Verri

38 mins: Valery brings down Tavares right on the edge of the box, another free-kick for the Gunners. Slides in, Tavares completely does him with the chop back inside and he’s brought down.

Valery even more fortunate to avoid a yellow! Cedric to take... blazes it over the bar. Terrible.

Simon Collings at St Mary’s

15:36 , Matt Verri

Arsenal have lulled since that good spell about 10 minutes ago. They could do with pushing on and trying to grab a goal before half-time.

15:35 , Matt Verri

34 mins: Nketiah knocks it past Lyanco and he has the beating of him for pace.

Gets dragged down to the floor and it’s an Arsenal free-kick. Southampton man fortunate to avoid a booking.

15:32 , Matt Verri

31 mins: Lokonga plays it in to Nketiah, who tries to play it round the corner for Martinelli but just too much on the pass.

Been a really positive 30 minutes from Nketiah though, on a rare start for him. Worked hard off the ball and he’s had a couple of nice moments in possession.

15:30 , Matt Verri

29 mins: Martinelli goes down, caught by Perraud as he tried to break clear on the right.

Brazilian being down gives Arteta a chance to call some players over for instructions, and Martinelli is going to be fine to continue.

15:27 , Matt Verri

26 mins: Decent strike from Armstrong.

Long throw into the Arsenal box, drops nicely for the Scottish midfielder and he gets a shot away as he swivels. Comfortable enough save for Ramsdale.

15:25 , Matt Verri

24 mins: Nearly 70% of possession so far for the Gunners.

Haven’t created too much with it though - best moments have come when they’re turned the ball over quickly.

Simon Collings at St Mary's

15:21 , Matt Verri

One of the best saves you’ll see from Forster there, pure reactions and instinct. Saints fans now singing: “England’s No1.”

15:20 , Matt Verri

20 mins: Sustained spell of Arsenal possession, visitors look much much confident on the ball than they have in their previous two matches.

Cedric whips a cross into the box, easily headed away though.

15:18 , Matt Verri

18 mins: WHAT A SAVE!

How are Arsenal not in front?! Southampton lose it and Arsenal can quickly counter.

Nketiah to Martinelli, he rolls it across the box and Saka looks to have a tap-in. Forster flies across his goal and makes a stunning save to tip it over.

Corner swung in, Forster off his line to palm it away.

Simon Collings at St Mary's

15:15 , Matt Verri

Not a bad start from Arsenal so far. Crucially Nuno has settled okay and I do wonder if Saka playing in front of him was a plan from Arteta to help the young left-back defensively.

15:15 , Matt Verri

15 mins: Take two. What do Southampton have planned this time...

Whipped in towards the near post, Ramsdale comes for it and doesn’t get there. His defenders do the job for him.

15:14 , Matt Verri

14 mins: Perraud goes for goal from distance again, deflects off Cedric and behind for a corner. Southampton want a free-kick for handball, not going to get it though.

Clever free-kick, played out to Perraud but his shot is blocked.

15:13 , Matt Verri

12 mins: Both sides looking to press high out of possession, so there’s space when that gets played through.

Gabriel steps out of defence well to win the ball back, can the Gunners counter? No. Xhaka passes it straight to a red and white shirt.

15:09 , Matt Verri

9 mins: Martinelli is on the right, with Saka on the left for the Gunners.

Tavares slides it out wide to the Brazilian, who cuts inside and curls an effort towards the far corner. Forster down well to save.

15:07 , Matt Verri

7 mins: First Southampton corner of the match.

Delivery from Ward-Prowse is brilliant, headed out though to Perraud. He’s 30 yards out, decides to try his luck but slices it straight over the bar.

15:06 , Matt Verri

6 mins: Sloppy pass from White straight to Elyounoussi, but he then shows good pace to get back and stop the Southampton winger breaking clear.

Broja then gets to the byline, turning past White twice. Pokes a dangerous ball across the face of goal, just about cleared away.

15:04 , Matt Verri

4 mins: Nketiah pounces on a loose ball, puts a decent cross into the box and Bednarek heads it behind for a corner.

Positive start from Nketiah, he’ll be looking to take full advantage of Lacazette’s absence.

Cedric takes it short to Nketiah. Sends it out to the edge of the box where Tavares goes for goal, shot blocked.

15:02 , Matt Verri

2 mins: Southampton on the front foot in the opening stages, Broja full of energy on his return to the side.

Aways fans in fine voice... Gunners fans know what a huge afternoon this is.

KICK-OFF!

15:00 , Matt Verri

We are underway at St Mary’s!

14:57 , Matt Verri

Here we go then... players are out onto the pitch.

Perfect conditions out there, glorious day. Hopefully we see some glorious football.

Simon Collings at St Mary’s

14:56 , Matt Verri

This is such a huge opportunity for Arsenal now and you suspect they’ll have all seen the score in the dressing room. Brighton have just done Arteta’s team talk for him.

Gabriel Martinelli’s pre-match thoughts...

14:49 , Matt Verri

“It’s very important for us - we need to treat every game like a cup final.

“We know that we haven’t played well the last two games, we trained well this week and we are ready to play this game.

“It’s going to be a tough game, they are a good team. We are ready and we’re going to try everything to win the game.”

Warm-ups well underway...

14:42 , Matt Verri

Preparations almost done at St Mary’s. Arsenal have been given that pre-match boost... up to them to take full advantage now.

14:36 , Matt Verri

Huge result for Arsenal - Brighton beat Tottenham 1-0.

The Gunners still trail Spurs by three points then, but they have two games in hand. The first of those comes this afternoon, before Arsenal then face Chelsea in midweek.

Massive few days coming up!

Lacazette misses out

14:29 , Matt Verri

Arsenal have been dealt a blow after Alexandre Lacazette tested positive for Covid-19.

The striker missed training this week and he was duly left out of the squad for the trip to Southampton, with Eddie Nketiah chosen to lead the line instead.

The news is a blow to Arsenal, who have already been hit by injuries to Kieran Tierney, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Thomas Partey.

Read the full story on that one here

Simon Collings at St Mary’s

14:23 , Matt Verri

Lacazette absence explained...

14:13 , Matt Verri

The Gunners face Chelsea and Manchester United in the next week - could well be without the Frenchman.

14:08 , Matt Verri

No Lacazette for Arsenal then - Nketiah starts in his place in a rare opportunity for the 22-year-old.

Arteta opts to start Tavares at left-back, which allows Xhaka to return to midfield. Smith Rowe is dropped to the bench.

Four changes from Southampton to the side that were heavily beaten by Southampton. Broja returns as expected, having been ineligible in that match.

Southampton team

14:02 , Matt Verri

Starting XI: Forster, Bednarek, Perraud, Lyanco, Walker-Peters, Romeu, Elyounoussi, Ward-Prowse, Valery, Armstrong, Broja

Subs: Caballero, Salisu, Redmond, Armstrong, Tella, Long, Stephens, Livramento, Adams

Arsenal team

14:01 , Matt Verri

Starting XI: Ramsdale, Cedric, White, Gabriel, Tavares, Xhaka, Lokonga, Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Nketiah

Subs: Leno, Holding, Ogungbo, Swanson, Elneny, Azeez, Smith Rowe, Hutchinson, Pepe

Home side looking for a response

13:54 , Matt Verri

Southampton come into this one off the back of a heavy 6-0 defeat to Chelsea last time out.

Safe to say they’ll be looking for a much-improved display.

Arteta in the building...

13:48 , Matt Verri

Team news coming up in just over ten minutes.

Problems to solve at both ends of the pitch for Arteta - we’ll soon find out what his solutions are!

13:42 , Matt Verri

So, so important that Arsenal get back to winning ways.

There was a lot of positivity around the club before the international break, but defeats to Crystal Palace and Brighton since then have really dampened the mood.

Trip to Stamford Bridge to come in midweek, then the Gunners welcome Man United to the Emirates before facing West Ham away from home.

Tough run coming up for Mikel Arteta’s side - got to get the three points this afternoon.

Interesting observation...

13:35 , Matt Verri

13:29 , Matt Verri

Currently 0-0 in north London, between Tottenham and Brighton.

Both sides could have been reduced to ten-men in the opening 45 minutes - very little in the way of goalmouth action.

As it stands, that would be a boost for Arsenal in the race for Champions League footbal.

You can follow live coverage of that match right here!

Arteta: Partey news not positive

13:20 , Matt Verri

Mikel Arteta has conceded it is increasingly unlikely that Thomas Partey will play again this season.

Partey limped off with a thigh injury in the 3-0 defeat at Crystal Palace earlier this month and Arsenal fear the midfielder will not return until the summer.

Speaking ahead of the trip to Southampton, Arteta provided a worrying update on Partey.

“The news that we got after having another assessment was not great,” said the Arsenal manager.

“It is not looking very positive [for] his availability this season, but we will have to wait and see. He is trying to get back as quick as possible, but at the moment we are not very optimistic about it.

“At the moment it is not ideal and we knew that towards the end of the season one of the key elements was going to be having the team available and the squad available as much as possible.”

Stage is set

13:13 , Matt Verri

Prediction

13:04 , Matt Verri

Arsenal might be catching Southampton at the wrong time. While the Saints looked on the beach already prior to the Chelsea game, the manner of that result should prompt some sort of a reaction from a team who, while capable of losing by such big margins, do boast quality on their day.

1-1 draw.

Arsenal team news

12:56 , Matt Verri

It will be fascinating to see how Arteta tackles his left-back problem. In the loss at home to Brighton, Granit Xhaka was deployed out of position in place of Nuno Tavares after his poor performance away at Crystal Palace.

Arteta has hinted that Xhaka will continue in the role this weekend, while Alexandre Lacazette should be available after missing a few training sessions for private reasons.

Elsewhere, Arsenal will surely look to change things up in midfield too, particularly with the double pivot of Martin Odegaard and Albert Sambi Lokonga being dominated all too often.

Certainly, there’s a lot of questions to answer for Arteta, who has a fairly small squad already and will likely be without both Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey for the rest of the season. Takehiro Tomiyasu should return to full training after this weekend.

Predicted XI: Ramsdale; Cedric, White, Gabriel, Xhaka; Odegaard, Lokonga, Smith Rowe; Saka, Lacazette, Martinelli.

Southampton team news

12:48 , Matt Verri

Ralph Hasenhuttl will surely make changes after the miserable home loss to Chelsea. Indeed, his team have reacted well to similar results in the past and star striker Armando Broja is once again available after being ineligible to face his parent club.

Alex McCarthy, Shane Long and Lyanco all face late fitness tests.

How to watch Southampton vs Arsenal

12:39 , Matt Verri

TV channel: With the game taking place during the 3pm blackout across English football, it will not be broadcast live on TV in the UK.

Highlights: Match of the Day, however, will show highlights when it airs at 10.30pm BST on BBC One this Saturday.

Live blog: You can still follow all of the action live right here with us, with Simon Collings at St Mary’s.

Good afternoon!

09:24 , Matt Verri

Welcome to Standard Sport’s coverage of Southampton versus Arsenal!

With Tottenham currently facing Brighton, the Gunners will soon know the updated picture of their fight for fourth place.

No matter what happens in north London, a victory is vital for their Champions League hopes and you can join us for all the build-up, match action and reaction via our live blog today. Kick-off comes at 3pm at St Mary’s.