Ryan Bertrand made his long-awaited first start of the season after the left-back had recovered from injury, whilst Puel’s opposite number Arsene Wenger gave debuts to £55m newboys Lucas Perez and Shkodran Mustafi.
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Nathan Redmond skipped past Nacho Monreal, drawing a foul to earn a free-kick in a ideal position on the edge of the area. In the goalmouth, the defender arched his body, connected with the ball with his right boot and acrobatically kicked it over his head into the goal.
Puel knows the next couple of games are vital.
With 66 minutes gone, Long then missed a glorious opportunity to regain the lead.
Arsenal: Cech; Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Cazorla; Walcott, Ozil, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Alexis 61′); Perez (Giroud 61′).
Cech was required to make late saves from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Long’s rebound, before Giroud nodded wide, but the game took another twist in stoppage-time when Fonte made contact with Giroud in the area.
Arsenal pushed to find another before the break but Southampton stood firm – in relative comfort – and emerged for the second period with Shane Long spearheading their attack at the expense of Jay Rodriguez.
Southampton, on the other hand, visit the capital aiming for a first win under manager Claude Puel – who replaced Ronald Koeman in the summer – but Nicholas believes that wait will go on beyond the weekend, tipping the Gunners for a “comfortable victory”.
“They were a bit surprised by the pace and the commitment of the Premier League [but] they will adapt to that”.
Fonte is not the first player to be penalised for grappling in the penalty box this season, with Ryan Shawcross and Raheem Sterling both giving away soft penalties in Manchester City’s 4-1 victory over Stoke City on August 20.
Cazorla was backed by Petr Cech, who said, “It was a great goal”.
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Mustafi’s description of what Perez can offer will certainly leave Arsenal fans excited to see what the 27-year-old can produce in the Premier League.
