Arsenal visit Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, and predictions have been made ahead of the clash.
The Gunners will finish second if they avoid a heavy defeat at St. Mary’s, and this will be their third consecutive season finishing as runners-up.
Arsenal beat Newcastle 1-0 at the Emirates last time out, and Mikel Arteta will be hoping for a similarly serene performance and victory against the Saints.
Southampton were defeated 3-1 by Arsenal in the reverse fixture in N5 in October, although the bottom-placed side did go ahead in that match, before goals from Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka reversed the scoreline.
Paul Merson makes Southampton vs Arsenal prediction
Arsenal will be without William Saliba for this game, after the Frenchman sustained a hamstring injury against Newcastle last week.
Jurrien Timber will also miss the clash after he underwent ankle surgery on Tuesday.
However, Havertz could make his first start since his lengthy injury lay-off, giving the Gunners a much-needed boost up front.
Writing for Sportskeeda, Paul Merson praised Arsenal for their performance against the Magpies and backed Arteta’s team to beat Southampton comfortably.
“Arsenal did well to cement second-place in the Premier League last week,” the pundit wrote.
“I expected Mikel Arteta to give playing time to a few youngsters in this game. All of them will be eager to show how much they can contribute to the first team next season.
“We all know how Southampton play. They will come out and want to play their football no matter what.
“This game has nothing in it for both teams, but I still think this could be entertaining. If Arsenal hit the right gears early on, they could even be five or six-nil up by the end of 90 minutes.”
Score Prediction: Southampton 0-3 Arsenal
Chris Sutton has predicted the result of Southampton vs Arsenal
Several Arsenal players could play their last game for the club on Sunday afternoon.
The likes of Kieran Tierney, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jorginho are all expected to depart this summer, and could be granted a final run-out in a red and white shirt by Arteta on the south coast.
Even with some potential changes, Chris Sutton thinks Arsenal will run out comfortable winners over the Championship-bound side.
Writing for BBC Sport, he said: “There will be Arsenal fans going to this game who are really jealous of Tottenham and what they have achieved this season, you can be sure of it.
“Mikel Arteta’s side have been miles better than Spurs, obviously, but they don’t have a trophy to show for it, unlike their north London rivals, and trophies are what football is about.
“It’s absurd to suggest Arteta should be any under pressure though.
“As for my prediction, well this one is pretty easy to call. Arsenal are without the injured William Saliba at the back, but they have got Declan Rice as their driving force, and this should be a routine win for the Gunners.
“Southampton held out for a draw against Manchester City in their previous home game, but I expect they are still too worn out from celebrating that point to get anything here.”
Score Prediction: Southampton 0-2 Arsenal
Southampton have been relegated for over a month now, while they’ve already surpassed Derby County’s record low points total of 11, so they will have very little to play for in this match.
However, their imminent new manager, Will Still, could be in the stands for the game, potentially motivating the Saints players to impress their prospective new boss.
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