(4-3-3) Normal Formation with Ødegaard and Merino back from injury”, Predicted Arsenal line up to face Southampton away from home

Predicted Arsenal lineup for away game against Southampton (4-3-3) in normal formation with Ødegaard and Merino returning from injury.

Arsenal and Southampton face off in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon at the Emirates Stadium, with the hosts undefeated.

The Gunners return to top-flight play following a 2-0 Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain, one day after the Saints were thrashed 3-1 by South Coast rivals Bournemouth.

Match preview
While PSG continues to dominate domestically in the post-Kylian Mbappe era, the French champions missed that aggressive X-factor at the Emirates Stadium on midweek, where Gianluigi Donnarumma’s two goalkeeping gaffes helped Arsenal a lot as well.

The Euro 2020 winner initially came for a Leandro Trossard cross and missed, allowing Kai Havertz to continue his hot trend in front of goal at the Emirates, until Bukayo Saka outclassed his penalty nemesis with a free kick that eluded everyone on way to goal.

Mikel Arteta’s easy and cheerful mood at full time said it all as Arsenal marched to their third home win in a row, and a far more straightforward one than their six-goal spectacular against Leicester City the previous weekend.

Arsenal’s latest injury-time spectacle sees the Gunners in third place in the standings, one point behind Liverpool and Manchester City, and their undefeated record in all competitions now stands at 15 games since April’s Champions League loss at the hands of Bayern Munich.

Arsenal is on the verge of reaching a big Premier League milestone, thanks to their late performance against Leicester; win on Saturday would be their 400th at home in the Premier League, a feat only Manchester United (426) has before accomplished.

As Arsenal approaches that top-flight milestone, Southampton travel to the Emirates having lost a record 246 Premier League away games – the fifth-highest total in the competition’s history – and Russell Martin nearly appeared resigned to his destiny in the Saints’ most recent road setback.

Pitted against South Coast rivals Bournemouth, the Saints were thrashed in the first 45 minutes by Evanilson, Antoine Semenyo, and Dango Ouattara, and while Taylor Harwood-Bellis brought one back early in the second, there would be no miraculous Martin comeback.

Southampton are only kept off the bottom of the table by Wolverhampton Wanderers’ slightly worse goal difference, while the club has reportedly not reached a consensus on the future of the under-pressure Martin, who is still backed in certain circles.

However, an Emirates defeat might land the promotion-winning manager in hot water, and he would be well to concentrate attacking ruthlessness before of Saturday’s encounter; the Saints’ poor conversion rate of 4.4% is the lowest in the 2024-25 Premier League.

The travelling army can take some solace from their team’s three-game unbeaten run against Arsenal, who had to pull off a trademark 2023 turnaround to draw 3-3 with Southampton in this fixture two seasons ago, but since the Highbury days of 1987, the Saints have not beaten the Gunners in a league fixture away from home.

Arteta’s full-back issue continues, with Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf), Kieran Tierney (hamstring), and Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) set to miss the game. Ben White (groin) and Jurrien Timber (muscle) are also doubtful.

The latter only lasted until halftime in the win against PSG, when Mikel Merino made his debut as a second-half replacement after sustaining a freak shoulder fracture, and the Spaniard will undoubtedly push for a first start over Thomas Partey this weekend.

The hosts are still missing captain Martin Odegaard (ankle), but Havertz, his deputy, may become the first Arsenal player to score in five consecutive Premier League games at the Emirates since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in 2019.

Arsenal were not the only team to suffer a defensive blow on Tuesday. Saints defender Jack Stephens was suspended for another two games for using disrespectful language after being sent off against Manchester United, bringing his total sentence to five games.

Will Smallbone has a limited chance of recovering from his thigh injury in time for the journey to North London, while Gavin Bazunu (Achilles) and Kamaldeen Sulemana (ankle) are still out of contention.

Aaron Ramsdale, an ex-Arsenal shot-stopper, is set to become the ninth goalkeeper to play against the Gunners in the Premier League after previously representing them; however, only one of the previous eight has kept a clean sheet in their first game against their former club, Emiliano Martinez for Aston Villa in 2020.

Arsenal’s likely starting lineup is Raya, Calafiori, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Havertz, Partey, Rice; Saka, Trossard, and Martinelli.

Southampton’s likely starting lineup: Ramsdale; Sugawara, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Taylor; Downes, Aribo, Lallana; Fernandes; Dibling, Brereton Diaz.