Mikel Arteta knows we are in for a major test against a Southampton side who "have no fear" - and has called on his side to show their edge.
Our head coach is looking to claim our first win since the restart, but knows we face a major test against a dangerous Saints team.
"They are a very German side," Arteta said. "A manager who has the team into pressing mode, they are really aggressive, really good on the counter-press, really good on the transition, they know what they're doing and they all seem very committed to him. A very dangerous team.
"I know it's a really difficult ground to go to there. They have no fear, they go for it and they really believe in what they do and they compete really, really well. We have to be ready and I'm sure on Thursday we will be ready
"I think [my players] are really willing and they are trying really hard, and I was really upset [at Brighton] because when I was talking about competing it is for 100 minutes. Now these types of games have water breaks and the amount of changes with substitutions that you can make, so you have to keep focus.
"I hate losing, but I hate giving games away when they are under control and you deserve to win them. So it is about that edge, the way they run, the way they press, the way they care: it is completely changed and I am satisfied with that.
"We did more than enough to win that game, but at the end of the day in the Premier League, at this level, if you give something to the opponent in some moments, it is going to be difficult to win football games."
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
