(4-3-3) Nwaneri and Merino to start”, Predicted Arsenal line up vs Southampton – as Mikel Arteta set to hand 18yr old His first league start

The predicted Arsenal lineup against Southampton was (4-3-3) Nwaneri and Merino to start, with Mikel Arteta expected to hand the 18-year-old His first-ever league debut

On Saturday afternoon in the Premier League, Arsenal and Southampton square off at the Emirates Stadium between the undefeated home team and the winless visiting team.

After defeating Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 in the Champions League, the Gunners make their Premier League comeback one day after Bournemouth, a rival team on the South Coast, easily defeated the Saints 3-1.

Preview of the match
Even while PSG is still winning domestically in the wake of Kylian Mbappe, the French champions sadly missed the aggressive X-factor at the Emirates Stadium on midweek, where Gianluigi Donnarumma’s two save errors also greatly benefited Arsenal.

At the Emirates, the Euro 2020 winner first attempted to score from a Leandro Trossard cross but missed, allowing Kai Havertz to continue his impressive run in front of goal. Then, Bukayo Saka surprised everyone by scoring a free kick that eluded everyone on the way to the goal.

Mikel Arteta, who is usually quiet even after a big win, was all smiles and fun at the end of the game as Arsenal won their third straight home game—a far more routine triumph than their thrilling six-goal thriller against Leicester City the previous weekend.

Arsenal’s most recent injury-time display has put the Gunners in third place in the standings, one point behind Manchester City and Liverpool. Since their Champions League elimination in April, they have gone 15 games without a loss in all competitions.

Arsenal is very close to reaching an important Premier League milestone because of their late performance against Leicester; a win on Saturday would mark their 400th Premier League home game, a record now held by only Manchester United (426).

Southampton travels to the Emirates having lost an incredible 246 away games in the Premier League, the fifth-highest number in the competition’s history, and Russell Martin nearly appeared to be accepting of his fate in the Saints’ most recent road setback as Arsenal approaches that elite level milestone.

The Saints were dominated by Antoine Semenyo, Dango Ouattara, and Evanilson in the first half of their match against Bournemouth, their South Coast rivals. Taylor Harwood-Bellis grabbed one back early in the second half, but there would be no spectacular Martin comeback.

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ marginally worse goal differential is the only thing keeping Southampton off the bottom of the table; nevertheless, it is rumored that the club hasn’t reached a consensus about the future of Martin, who is still receiving support from some quarters despite the pressure.

The promotion-winning manager would do well to prioritize attacking ruthlessness before to Saturday’s encounter, though, as an embarrassing performance by Emirates might put him in danger of losing his job. The Saints’ dismal 4.4% conversion percentage is the lowest of the 2024–25 Premier League season.

The visiting supporters may find some comfort in their team’s three-game winning streak against Arsenal, who needed to mount a legendary comeback to draw 3–3 with Southampton in this match two seasons prior. However, the Saints haven’t defeated the Gunners in an away league game since the Highbury days of 1987.

Team News: Arthur’s full-back situation is becoming worse by the day. Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee), Kieran Tierney (hamstring), and Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) are all expected to miss this game, and Ben White (groin) and Jurrien Timber (muscle) are new doubts.

The latter did not play past halftime in the victory over PSG, while Mikel Merino, who made his debut as a second-half substitute after suffering an unusual shoulder fracture, will undoubtedly try to get his maiden start this weekend against Thomas Partey.

The hosts are still adjusting to life without captain Martin Odegaard (ankle), but Havertz, his deputy, feels that home is where the heart is. He has the potential to become the first player from Arsenal to score in five consecutive Premier League games at the Emirates since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in 2019.

The Saints defender Jack Stephens was sent off against Manchester United and now faces a five-game suspension for using derogatory language. Arsenal was not the only team to suffer a setback on Tuesday. Stephens will miss two more games.

Though there is little likelihood that Will Smallbone will recover from his thigh issue in time for the journey to North London, Gavin Bazunu (Achilles) and Kamaldeen Sulemana (ankle) are still out of the running.

Only one of the previous eight goalkeepers to play against the Gunners in the Premier League after previously representing them was Emiliano Martinez for Aston Villa in 2020. Aaron Ramsdale, an ex-Arsenal shot stopper, is expected to be the ninth goalkeeper to do so.

Possible starting lineup for Arsenal: Raya; Havertz, Partey, Rice; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli; Calafiori, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior

Possible starting lineup for Southampton: Downes, Aribo, Lallana; Fernandes; Dibling, Brereton Diaz; Ramsdale, Sugawara, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, and Taylor