Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal make the journey south to St. Mary’s Stadium in search of their first points since the Premier League resumed prior to lockdown.
A 2-1 loss at the hands of Brighton on Saturday ensured a miserable return to action for The Gunners, who were previously dismantled at the hands of Manchester City last week.
They now sit 10th in the league table and eleven points off a Champions League spot.
Southampton, on-the-other-hand, go into the match with the opportunity to go level on points with Thursday's opposition.
After a 3-0 win at Norwich, The Saints all-but-mathematically secured their Premier League safety for another season.
When’s the game: 6pm, Thursday 25th June
Where’s the game: St. Mary’s Stadium
Watch it live: Sky Sports Main Events
Southampton
Southampton's last game
Norwich 0-3 Southampton (Ings, Armstrong, Redmond)
Southampton team news
Southampton head into Thursday night’s game boasting a clean bill of health, as forward Shane Long is declared fit from a muscle strain that kept him out of the clash at Carrow Road.
The only player unavailable for The Saints is Moussa Djenepo, who is still serving a suspension following his sending off against Newcastle back in March.
Arsenal
Arsenal's last game
Brighton 2-1 Arsenal (Pepe)
Arsenal team news
An array of injuries and suspensions will no doubt be a concern for Arsenal as goalkeeper Bernd Leno joins Gabriel Martinelli, Pablo Mari, Lucas Torreira, Calum Chambers and Cedric Soares on the injury list.
Although Leno’s injury isn’t as bad a first feared, with the German sustaining a moderate ligament sprain and aiming to return to training within 4-6 weeks.
David Luiz is also unavailable as he serves the last game of his suspension after being sent off at The Etihad last week.
But, both Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Granit Xhaka, have been passed fit for selection.
Last 5 meetings
Southampton 1-1 Arsenal (10/12/17)
Arsenal 3-2 Southampton (08/04/18)
Southampton 3-2 Arsenal (16/12/18)
Arsenal 2-0 Southampton (24/02/19)
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton (23/11/19)
Match preview written by Ryan Condon.
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