Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Arsenal 0 Southampton 0: Olivier Giroud applauded Fraser Forster he was so good at the Emirates

ANALYSIS: We take a look at the moment of the match, the star player and who's up next following the goalless draw at the Emirates

Wednesday 03 February 2016 00:18 GMT

STAR PLAYER

Fraser Forster: The Southampton goalkeeper had a superb second half to the game stopping everything which came his way and keeping his side in the game. Forster's impressive performance reminded everyone why, before his injury, he was a regular call-up to the England squad.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Arsenal looked like a changed team with 20 minutes of the second half to go and could easily have gone ahead had it not been for Forster's impressive play. A shot from Sanchez was saved so spectacularly that Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud turned to Forster and applauded the stop.

VIEW FROM THE BENCH

Arsene Wenger was short of attacking options as his chosen strikers failed to find a way past Forster. In an attempt to bring some change and hopefully a goal the Arsenal manager brought on Theo Walcott but he too failed to make a difference and for parts of the game it was easy to forget he was on the pitch.

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Show all 12

1/12Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Cech: 6 out of 10

Will doubtless be overshadowed by excellence from Fraser Forster but as per usual Cech never put a foot wrong and was always live to Southampton’s attempts to get in behind his defenders.

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Bellerin: 5 out of 10

A rare loose display from the full-back, who was one of several to give the ball away far too often. His crossing was as good as ever but too often Long and Mane were able to exploit the space he left.

2016 Getty Images

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Gabriel: 5 out of 10

There were good reasons for dropping Per Mertesacker, who is looking more cumbersome by the week, but this was not a match where Gabriel fully convinced in his stead. Was very lucky to not give away a penalty in the second half when only Mane’s refusal to go down saved him.

2016 Getty Images

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Koscielny: 6 out of 10

A key figure in a misfiring second half, on more than one occasion sweeping in behind to stop the dangerous Long and Mane sweeping in behind. However how he missed an unmarked header from six yards out only he will know.

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Monreal: 6 out of 10

In the mistake-filled morass of the first half Monreal stood out by rarely putting a foot wrong. He sat much deeper than he has in past games but it was notable that Southampton had little joy down the right.

2016 Getty Images

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Flamini: 5 out of 10

Simply lacks the legs to cut it alongside Ramsey in the middle of the park. He was unable to cover the ground required as his colleague pressed forward, allowing Southampton to pick the Gunners apart on the counter. Increasingly, and justifiably, lost his rag with Ramsey as he failed to track back with any urgency.

2016 Getty Images

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Ramsey: 4 out of 10

Santi Cazorla dictates play for Arsenal in the deep-lying playmaking role, and so did Ramsey. Hence with so many passes flying wide of the mark and straight into touch the Gunners’ first-half was utterly atrocious. The second half saw him more often than not alongside Giroud but he had even less impact there.

2016 Getty Images

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Campbell: 5 out of 10

Once more the work-rate was present and correct but the quality was lacking. First the ambitious passes stopped paying off, then the basic ones. He would track back and look to recover his mistakes but more often than not that would lead to a free-kick.

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

(Sub) Walcott: 5 out of 10

Barring a double chance spurned seconds after coming on Walcott offered little to Arsenal’s attempts to break Southampton down and was once more notable by his absence.

2016 The Arsenal Football Club Plc

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Ozil: 5 out of 10

Muscularly dealt with by Victor Wanyama and Oriol Romeu, but his influence grew as the match wore on. He may not have been able to take the first-chance opportunities but that was more down to the luck and excellence of Forster than anything else.

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Sanchez: 7 out of 10

About the only Arsenal player in the opening period who looked like crafting a chance or even correctly placing a pass, as in his beautiful delivery to Ozil. But his own superiority was soon to be his downfall as he hubristically took the burden of the whole team’s output on his shoulders.

Arsenal player ratings vs Southampton

Giroud: 5 out of 10

Is it fair to criticise him for constantly dropping deep into midfield in a bid to create something. Probably not, such was the dominance of Virgil van Dijk and Jose Fonte in the air. A frustrating night was defined in opposition to the excellence of Forster, who on several occasions kept out several efforts that seemed destined for goal.

MOAN OF THE MATCH

Arsenal fans were an unhappy bunch throughout the match and seemed to take most of their annoyance out on referee Lee Mason. The fans were not impressed by some of the decisions made by the man in charge but replays showed Mason had a good match overall getting the majority of the key decisions right.

WHO'S UP NEXT?

Bournemouth v Arsenal (Barclays Premier League, February 7)

Southampton v West Ham (Barclays Premier League, February 6)

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies