Arsenal will go to Southampton today in desperate need of a win, with their Champions League hopes having crashed in recent weeks.

The Gunners were favourites to close in on a top-four finish during the international break, but after losing to both Crystal Palace and Brighton they are now clawing to such hopes.

Tottenham have taken full advantage of our slip to forge ahead of us in the table, and will hopefully drop points against the Seagulls (I’m not holding my breath) to open the door for us to close the gap on our rivals.

Regardless of their result however, the pressure will be on us to keep our dream alive, with us still having every chance of reaching the Champions League, assuming we can get back to form as well as beat our noisy neighbours later in the campaign.

There is little point in looking ahead to other fixtures if we cannot get that ball rolling again by returning to winning ways in Hampshire, and that will not come easy. We have conceded five goals in our last two outings, with our side seemingly struggling to deal with our key injury absences, and an away trip to Southampton is far from an easy task.

Every Arsenal fan in the world is well aware that Eddie Nketiah will be leaving us on a free transfer this summer, along with Alexandre Lacazette, and the Gunners would be even more short of strikers than ever before.

But right now, with Lacazette expected to miss the trip to Southampton today, I simply cannot see that Mikel Arteta has any choice except to play our misfiring youngster.

Although us fans don’t rate him for his goalscoring record over the last few years, the fact is that he is only ever used as a substitute when Arteta is ready to bring smeone off (usually Lacazette who rarely lasts 90 minutes either). In fact, against Brighton, Nketiah played for a whole 28 minutes, which is the longest time he has been on the pith for Arsenal this year!

It must also be noted that, although he hasn’t scored this year, Nketiah has hit the post or the bar in his last few games, so you could say that he is getting closer. Maybe with a full 90 minutes under his belt he may just put the ball in the back of the net.

There is also the problem that Arteta simply has no one else that could play up front anyway, unless he shocks us all by giving Pepe a starting spot.

Arsenal will go to the St Mary’s Stadium to take on Southampton today with three key players missing, while Alexandre Lacazette’s availability remains unknown.

The Frenchman missed training on Friday for an unknown reason, with manager Mikel Arteta claiming that he couldn’t divulge the information. It seemed like it was more personal for Laca as opposed to footballing or fitness issues.

We remain without Kieran Tierney, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Thomas Partey this weekend. The latter now appears set to miss the remainder of the season despite Arteta claiming that he is working hard to try and make a return beforehand. The Scot is also expected to remain sidelined until pre-season, while we continue to wait on the Japan international. He’s only featured twice in 2022 thus far having agitated another injury amidst his initial recovery, but is believed to be close to being made available once again.

Predicted Arsenal XI:

Ramsdale
Cedric White Gabriel Xhaka
Odegaard Lokonga Smith Rowe
Martinelli Laca Saka

West Ham gave Brassell’s Lyon a battering last night! And Stanley Tucci couldn’t do a thing about it. 

Marcus, Luke and Andy discuss a bustling night of European football on today’s Preview Show, sponsored by Betway! The Ferryman’s European tour continues and Rangers almost manage - in the words of the great Terry Brown - to stab themselves in the foot.

Elsewhere, a huge weekend beckons for Crystal Palace and we react to the day’s big news: Sean Dyche is gone!

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A message to all commentators who solemnly declare fans don’t like to see scraps on a football pitch: we absolutely do like to see it.

Kate, Vish and Andy are ringside for City’s rope-a-dope, as we ask why Atlético continually insist on playing the shithouse hits. We also tip the hat to an entertaining one at Anfield, hear from Granit Xhaka about his relationship with Arsenal fans and look ahead to this week’s true title fight: José Mourinho vs Bodø/Glimt.

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Hard luck, Chelsea fans - King Carlo and the old guard were back for one last grift. Rio Ferdinand's certain it was illegal.

Marcus, Vish and Pete are here after a vintage European evening, as Bayern became the latest high-profile victim of The Unai Emery Experience. We also offer Pep Talks advice to a listener ahead of an outrageous job interview and catch up with some elite managerial shithousery in Spain.

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Marcus, Luke and Lars check in with the Conte Revolution at Tottenham and look over Luton’s incredible rise as they push for a historic promotion. 

Elsewhere, Nasser Al-Khelaifi wants Childish Gambino at BATE Borisov while Thomas Tuchel thinks tonight’s Champions League tie is dead - for now. Ominous stuff!

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Man City vs Liverpool was billed as the best clash of the season – and, blimey, for once it actually was!

Jules, Pete and Lars are your chaotic trio for a gloriously chaotic weekend in the Premier League, as Pep channels all his pent up energy into a handshake with Jurgen Klopp and Antonio Conte channels it into some absolutely chilling post-match analysis. Plus, Jules distances herself from some phone-smashing and Pete shares his hatred for Hertha Berlin.

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