The Gunners will have to work hard in order to come away with all three points, however no matter how nervous we may be going into the game, it seems that the PSG players also have doubts about the opposition.
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Wenger said: “I haven’t seen (the penalty) again, but they tell me in the dressing room it was a penalty – a 100 per cent penalty”.
Arsenal won at Watford before the global break, having previously taken only one point from their first two games of the season, and Wenger said: “Two wins together is a big help, it gives players more confidence to get to where we want to be”.
Although Laurent Koscielny equalised shortly afterwards with a magnificent overhead kick, Arsenal struggled to break the visitors down and Saints goalkeeper Fraser Forster was largely untroubled for much of the second half.
In the second half Arsenal fans voiced their displeasure at the average performance on display as they never really looked like finding a victor until stoppage-time.
Southampton manager Claude Puel was disappointed his side conceded so late in the game after taking the lead in the first half.
Arsenal relied on Santi Cazorla’s stoppage-time penalty to secure a 2-1 victory over Southampton on Saturday after another unconvincing display from the London club as it chases a first Premier League title since 2004.
Santi Cazorla influenced the game in spells from his deep-lying playmaker role, but the shape of Arsenal’s midfield looked all over the place at times and was unable to exert pressure on the Southampton back four.
– Cazorla’s last seven Premier League goals for Arsenal have been via the penalty spot.
Faced with dropping points in its first home game since losing to Liverpool in the opening round, Arsenal benefited from a favorable refereeing decision 30 seconds after the clock hit 90 minutes.
“We played fantastic. We had the best situations to score and win the game against a very good team”, added Puel, who spent several seasons as a player under Wenger when they were at Monaco. He came back from Russian Federation on Thursday and today he scored when we were 1-0 down.
Wenger chose to largely base his selection with the midweek champions league game in the back of his mind, with both Alexis and Giroud sitting on the bench, whilst Perez, Chamberlain and Walcott, all who could play an important part out in France, were all substituted to ensure their fitness doesn’t drop too low.
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With the game still in the balance, Long headed over a good chance from the middle of Cech’s goal before Nacho Monreal’s strike was deflected behind by Cedric.
