Arsenal defeated Southampton 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
Former player and current pundit Clive Allen believes that Arsenal were poor in their game against Southampton and a long way short of supporters’ expectations, the BBC report.
The Gunners recorded all three points against the Saints with Santi Cazorla scoring a last-minute penalty, yet for long spells they struggled to mount any sort of pressure on the visitors’ defence.
Southampton took the lead as Dusan Tadic’s free-kick rebounded off Petr Cech and into the net, though Arsenal responded 11 minutes later as Laurent Koscielny drew the hosts level.
From then on it looked like a draw was on the cards as Claude Puel’s men held firm, but Arsenal found a late winner, although that was not enough to convince Allen to hold back from criticising Arsene Wenger’s side.
“It’s too slow from Arsenal, who are constantly playing the ball inside and with very little purpose. There’s not enough movement off the ball either, which is usually one of Arsenal’s trademarks. The standard of Arsenal today has been so far below what the fans expect,” the former player explained to the BBC.
Arsenal haven’t really got going yet this season despite winning their past two matches, and currently sit fifth in the Premier League table and one point behind the top four.
The Gunners still have a number of players with question marks over their fitness, though one positive for Wenger’s side was seeing Shkodran Mustafi and Koscielny as a centre-back duo.
Next up for Arsenal is a trip to French champions Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League before facing Hull City at the KC Stadium next weekend.
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