SANCHEZ ON SONG
ALEXIS SANCHEZ and Olivier Giroud kept Arsenal in the hunt for the top four and a Champions League place but it came at a cost with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain sustaining a hamstring injury.
Sanchez struck on the hour with a brilliant goal and Giroud was on target only three minutes after coming on to nod home to move Arsenal into fifth in the table.
But Oxlade-Chamberlain had to be replaced after 36 minutes with an injury which could make him a doubt for their last three games and the FA Cup Final with Chelsea on May 27.
It had been a frustrating night for Arsenal until Sanchez scored to send them on their way.
IRTYSH PAVLODAR, Arka Gdynia, Nomme Kalju, CS Universitatea Craiova, Ostersund, Zulte Waregem.
Just some of the teams that have already booked themselves a place in next season’s Europa League.
That is why, when you have spent 18 years proudly qualifying for the Champions League, the prospect of missing out should be, quite literally, unspeakable.
Nevertheless, it was only after a tepid first-half display, that a moment of long overdue magic from Alexis Sanchez kept Arsenal on their familiar old track before Olivier Giroud marked his introduction as a late substitute by nodding in the simplest of second goals.
It is a victory that lifts them into fifth and keeps them very much on the coat-tails of those above them. And while in their remaining three games they need to be much more convincing, suddenly things are looking a lot brighter for Arsene Wenger.
Southampton may not have won since April 8, but they had done Arsenal a huge favour at the weekend to hold Liverpool to a draw to make Jurgen Klopp’s side the more vulnerable of the top four.
It was now up to the Gunners to take advantage but it was the Saints who made a start of such luminous brightness it almost outshone the hideous fluorescent trimmings on the away kit.
A slight injury to skipper Laurent Koscielny made an Arsenal defence that always looks uncomfortable wobble even more than usual, with the unconvincing Shkodran Mustafi asked to anchor the back three.
However, slowly the Gunners worked their way into the game and Aaron Ramsey should have hit the target after 15 minutes following some good work by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
You have got to feel sorry for Oxlade-Chamberlain. He was a bright spark, growing into his new role of right wingback, but he limped off after 36 minutes with another niggling injury to be replaced by Hector Bellerin.
It set Arsenal back until the break, with Southampton queuing up to test Petr Cech from range.
The giant goalkeeper had already come to the rescue when his entire defence went missing to leave two strikers unmarked in the area.
Mustafi scrambled back to stop Dusan Tadic’s initial effort, but Manolo Gabbiadini’s follow-up was arrowing inside the far post before Cech’s intervention.
The 34-year-old could only watch Gabbiadini’s free-kick just before the break go inches high and wide of his post, but when Nathan Redmond tried one from similar range in open play, Cech tipped the ball over the bar. Arsenal’s best chance had come when Jack Stephens’ uncompromising tackle on Mesut Ozil stopped the Germany midfielder from taking advantage of Danny Welbeck’s clever flick, but in truth, it was a poor half.
Unsurprisingly, the visitors started the second half more positively, with Ramsey firing a low shot against the heels of the offside Welbeck when the back of the net would have been the easier target to hit.
Ozil got himself in a twist as he tried to flick in Granit Xhaka’s chip and missed the ball completely, but on the hour mark, Sanchez offered a timely reminder of what he can do.
With one swivel of the hips he left Stephens and Maya Yoshida on their backsides before composing himself to fire the ball into the net.
Southampton refused to lie down and both managers rang the changes.
In the end, though, it was Giroud’s arrival that proved crucial. Ramsey knocked Sanchez’s cross in a simple loop to the Frenchman, who headed in to seal the victory.