By James Mackney @JimMackney
It has been a perfect weekend for Southampton football club. And before you slam an insult into the comment box below let me finish.
Saints go into a tough but winnable Capital One Cup match against Arsenal second in the Premier League table and they are there on merit, and survived the agony of four games being played today, two of which could’ve knocked them off their nosebleed perch.
Saints put in a steady and confident performance against everyone’s’ second favourite team Swansea this weekend and were naturally helped by the silly dismissal of Wilfred Bony. Wanyama once again displayed why he made Dejan Lovren look a good player last season; by being a rock in midfield, when he came on for the injured Ward-Prowse. Pellé added to his string of positive performances with another confident display. Yoshida’s substitution for Florin Gardos added a level of stability at the back. Yoshida is a player that offers a good hoof ball, but the trust is not as evident as it is with Saints’ other CB options.
Saints also have four wins in all competitions and three straight wins in the EPL, making it their best start to a Premiership season so far. A certain sense of optimism is spreading through the fan base and for all the doom and gloom of the summer transfer window our story has carried on being remarkable. The additions of Pellé, Tadić, Forster and Alderweireld seem to be brilliant acquisitions.
Apart from the above there is another reason for Saints fans to be pleased going into the next two games… Barring a defeat to QPR (which could happen) and a sizeable win for Spurs against Arsenal, the Saints will travel to White Hart Lane above Spurs.
To add to this, Spurs sing to the same tune as Saints, they have their once feted manager and they think they’re bigger than Saints.
The last point is in jest but when 3pm comes around it will be Spurs who have to prove why they should be in Saints’ position and Saints will be granted the opportunity to kick Pochettino when he is down and heap more trouble on the manager, especially if he has suffered a less than convincing win against Arsenal.
In all of this are a lot tangibles and frankly, Spurs could turn over both Arsenal and Saints and I’ll have to eat my words, but for the time being I am sure that many fans cannot wait to potentially see Saints heap more misery on the man who walked away with nothing more than a shrug.