Errors from Wojciech Szczesny and the Arsenal defence ensured Southampton started the new year in style with a 2-0 win at St Mary's.
Szczesny can be a top class shot-stopper on his day but sometimes his erratic nature is all too evident and the Polish international will have been disappointed with himself in his part in the goals from Sadio Mane and Dusan Tadic. He was all over the place and not the confident goalkeeper we have seen previously, so maybe it is time for David Ospina to be given his chance or for Damian Martinez to have another go between the sticks.
The Gunners went into the game looking for their third win on the spin over the festive period and knowing that victory would see them leapfrog their opponents into fourth place, just a point behind Manchester United. Arsene Wenger's men actually started the game positively but once the first goal went in after 34 minutes the visitors didn't look like making that possible.
The result is in stark contrast to this time a year ago when Arsenal beat Cardiff to top the table on New Year's Day in 2014. Signs for much of the game against Southampton are worrying and the Gunners will be hoping they can get back to winning ways when they begin the defence of their FA Cup title against Hull at the weekend.
The defence really was all over the place against Southampton although that didn't become as clear until the first goal went in. Graziano Pelle sent a free header wide before Alexis Sanchez forced a fine save from Fraser Forster in an end-to-end start as both sides started brightly.
Arsenal, who had been unbeaten in their last four league games, were showing early signs that they could win the game as they continued to push forward. Sanchez played it through to Tomas Rosicky and his low ball found Cazorla, whose close-range effort was excellently kept out by Forster. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sanchez also wasted opportunities as the Gunners continued to push forward. But as so often with Arsenal, where there is brilliance, there can also be moments of madness.
The visitors' positive start was undone shortly after the hour mark when Szczesny raced out to meet the ball but was beaten to it by Mane wide out on the right. With the goalkeeper in no man's land Mane curled his effort over Szczesny's head and towards goal from a narrow angle. There was still a chance for Per Mertesacker to clear the ball of the line but the German defender could only watch it drop into the net with a slight touch off his toe. Mane somehow picked up an injury during the goal and was withdraw minutes later.
It was very poor defending and poor goalkeeping. Mertesacker has looked a shadow of his former self this season and Wenger really needs to add some defensive reinforcements during the January transfer window. Kieran Gibbs is having a decent season and Mathieu Debuchy has impressed in many games, just not this one. Calum Chambers has made a positive impact but there remain question marks over the centre-back pairing of Laurent Koscielny and Mertesacker. Although Koscielny wasn't at his best against Southampton but normally I rate him very highly. As for Mertesacker, he is really starting to worry me this season and is too slow to react at the back. He is a very useful back-up to have but I think it is time for Koscielny to have a new regular centre-back partner.
The defensive frailties were again highlighted before the break when Pelle set up James Ward-Prowse with ease, but the latter's low shot was well saved by the legs of Szczesny.
Arsenal needed a big performance after the break in order to get anything from the game, but there appeared to be little fight from the visitor in what was a shoddy second-half display.
The Gunners did have a great chance to level the scores within nine minutes of the restart. Sanchez controlled the ball and shifted it onto his right foot before firing in a shot, only for Forster to superbly get his left hand to it to keep it out.
That miss proved costly for the visitors as Southampton doubled their lead just two minutes later. Steven Davis superbly controlled a loose ball and drilled it across the area where Mathieu Debuchy attempted to cut it out, only to slice his clearance against Szczesny. The goalkeeper then attempted to stab the ball away with his feet to clear the danger but gifted it straight to Tadic for an easy finish from close range.
What had started as quite a promising game for Arsenal was turning into a defensive horror show and, in truth, the score could've been worse. Pelle had a chance with an open goal but his effort was superbly headed off the line by Debuchy.
Southampton should arguably have been reduced to 10 men after 67 minutes when Florin Gardoș fouled Sanchez as the Chilean raced in on goal. As the last man denying Sanchez a clear goal-scoring opportunity it should've been a red card but instead the Romanian defender received only yellow.
Although it was a big call and could've potentially made a big impact on the final outcome, Southampton were more than worthy of their victory in what is continuing to be a fine season for the South Coast club. When Ronald Koeman took charge at Southampton many expected him to be in for a tough ride, especially following the exodus of a string of key players. Instead, the Dutchman has propelled the Saints into the top four and his side have only failed to win after scoring first once, and that was against leaders Chelsea. Koeman deserves huge credit for the job he has done and is already a very strong candidate for manager of the season.
Arsenal, on the other hand, are again proving inconsistent. After some impressive wins they have crashed back down to earth and remain in fifth place following this latest setback. Although I still believe we will finish in the top four, this season hasn't been good enough and we need to add two or three new faces to the side this month.
Francis Coquelin was fairly impressive but most of the rest of the side disappointed against Southampton and it has left me continuing to wonder where on earth our season is going. We can get back on track and finish fourth yet again but if we achieved that it still wouldn't be good enough as we should be aiming higher.
For now we must forget about the league and focus on the FA Cup. We are the holders and when we play Hull in a replay of last year's final this weekend we will need to ensure we start our defence in style and not with another sloppy performance.
We need to make our positive spells count and turn them into goals. On another day we could've been one or two up against Southampton but we wasted our chances and never recovered after the opening goal. We need to be a lot more organised, especially at the back, against the Tigers and I really hope I am able to celebrate when I am at the Emirates at the weekend.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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