Alan Shearer believes Southampton were able to beat Arsenal because they successfully targeted the centre of the Gunners’ defence.
Arsenal, beaten 3-2 at St Mary’s, have injury problems at centre-back and had Laurent Koscielny back in the side after a long absence.
And former England captain Shearer, speaking on Match of the Day 2, has no doubt the Saints went all out to capitalise on Arsenal’s problems.
Shearer said: “There’s no doubt about it. Because Arsenal have been struggling defensively with players being out injured – Koscielny’s been out for a long time – their (Southampton’s) first thought was to get the ball in the middle.
“You can see that was the plan; to get the ball in and get it in early – cause them problems.”
Koscielny, making his Premier League return after a ruptured Achilles, found the going tough.
Prior to his midweek outing against Qarabag in the Europa League, the Frenchman had not played since May.
Shearer’s fellow pundit Stephen Warnock said: “He looked like he was running with an injury – didn’t look up to full speed.
“You know the quality he’s got, but it’s going to take him a little more time to get up to speed. But defensively they are a worry.”