Arsenal will be looking to bounce back from successive Premier League defeats and continue their top four chase when they travel to Southampton on Saturday afternoon.
Back-to-back defeats to Crystal Palace and Brighton have seen Arsenal drop from fourth to fifth in the Premier League table, with Tottenham Hotspur overtaking the Gunners in the table. Mikel Arteta's side still have one game in-hand on Spurs, with the Gunners just three points behind their rivals.
The last meeting between the two sides saw the Gunners win 3-0, and Arteta seems to be facing the Saints at a great time, with Southampton without a win in five league games - their last outing a 6-0 defeat to Chelsea. A win would be vital for Arsenal, but a loss would make it three defeats in a row for the first time since the opening three games of the season.
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Takehiro Tomiyasu is set to be sidelined once again for the Gunners, with Kieran Tierney and Thomas partey also absent. Alexandre Lacazette was not pictured in training this week, but Arteta claims there's a "good possibility" that the striker is available.
So, what line-up will Arteta select? And, what could the final score be? We used FIFA 22 to get a score prediction for Southampton vs Arsenal and this is what happened.
Southampton vs Arsenal score predicted by simulation
We used kick-off mode in FIFA 22, but didn't select a team to control, we then selected the teams and watched the match play out by itself, to give us a score prediction.
And we predicted that the Saints could set up in a 4-4-2 formation, with their line-up as follows: Forster; Livramento, Bednarek, Salisu, Walker-Peters; Armstrong, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Elyouunoussi; Adams, Broja.
We predict that Arsenal could set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Ramsdale; Soares, White, Gabriel, Tavares; Lokonga, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Lacazette.
Arsenal started the game at St. Mary's on top, creating a handful of chances in the opening 10 minutes, with Albert Sambi Lokonga's long range effort hitting the post the best of them. The Gunners did open the scoring after 12 minutes though, with midfield partner Granit Xhaka scoring from close range.
The midfielder ghosted into the box unmarked, and after some incredible dribbling from Gabriel Martinelli which saw the Brazilian evade a couple of challenges, he found Xhaka unmarked. The Switzerland international's shot was shot just to the side of Fraser Forster, and the 'keeper made a poor attempt to save the shot, flapping the effort into the net.
The Gunners maintained control towards the break, but one lapse in concentration saw Southampton hit the Gunners hard on the break. Armando Broja peeled off the back of Ben White as the Saints rushed forward, and the striker drilled a shot past Aaron Ramsdale to make it 1-1.
The goal saw Southampton spring into life in the final few minutes of the half, and after stealing the ball from Arsenal once again in midfield, the home side scored a second just two minutes after the first through James Ward-Prowse. Mohamed Elyounoussi found the midfielder just outside the box, and the England international hit a fierce effort, floating into the far top corner to send Southampton into the lead.
Arsenal came out in the second-half a much more dangerous looking side, with Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard finding themselves more involved. The latter was heavily involved as Arsenal found an equaliser with 20 minutes remaining, setting up Alexandre Lacazette for their second of the afternoon.
The Norwegian midfielder sprayed a pass across the pitch to Saka and received it back from the winger on the edge of the box, with Lacazette ahead of him. Odegaard slipped Lacazette through on goal, and the French striker found the top corner from the narrowest of angles to level the scoring.
As the game went on, Southampton chose to sit deep and hold out for a draw as a coping mechanism to Arsenal's relentless second half pressure. The Gunners patiently moved the ball around the Saints box, and a moment of magic from Lacazette saw Arsenal find the winner in the 95th minute.
Nuno Tavares and Martinelli linked up well down the right before the latter cut into the box. Martinelli played the ball to Lacazette who had his back to goal, and the Frenchman flicked the ball around his marker before taking aim and firing a powerful effort into the roof of the net. The goal was the last chance of the game, handing Arsenal all three points.
FIFA 22 predicted final score: Southampton 2-3 Arsenal
Here are the full-time match stats:
FIFA 22 predicts that Southampton could prove a stern test for Mikel Arteta's side, with the Gunners coming from behind to claim three points. In the simulation, Lacazette proved the difference for Arsenal, and the Gunners will be hopeful he's available come Saturday.
What do you think the score will be? Let us know in the comments!
FIFA 22 is the latest game within EA's popular FIFA video game franchise, which was released worldwide on Friday, October 1, 2021. The game is available now on all platforms including Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Stadia and PC.
