Southampton 1-1 Arsenal: Giroud's late header cancels out Austin's early opener

Full-Time: Southampton 1-1 Arsenal

Austin's early opener is cancelled out by Giroud's late header. Saints could have been further in front after performing excellently in the first half, but the Gunners, who defended woefully at times, will take a point in the circumstances.

Ramsey tries to flick the ball goal wards but his effort crawls into Forster's gloves.

Southampton coming forward in hope of a late winner but Arsenal look comfortable enough.

Ramsey seems to be in some discomfort, looks like a hamstring problem.

Sanchez's delicate cross is deftly headed by Giroud, who beats Forster to bring Arsenal back on level terms. A major blow for the Saints, who had looked rather comfortable.

GOAL! Southampton 1-1 Arsenal (Giroud)

Austin receives rapturous applause as he is replaced by Gabbiadini with just five minute left.

Wilshere caught late by Romeu, who receives a yellow card for his troubles.

Ozil and Sanchez look over the free-kick. The latter takes, and his effort has to be beaten away by Forster.

Ozil's awful corner is headed away, before the resulting looping ball from the second phase is collected by Forster.

Saints come forward with little intent and are seemingly happy to tick down the seconds in Arsenal's half. Gabbiadini now coming on as Stephens is booked for time wasting.

Boufal skips past Bellerin before being hauled down by the Spaniard, who inevitably picks up a yellow card.

Boufal is introduced for Nathan Redmond as we approach the final 15 minutes at the St Mary's.

Not much in the way of clear cut chances in recent minutes - the Saints have won a free-kick after Welbeck fouled Van Dijk.

A bit of sustained Arsenal pressure results in a corner, which is cleared, before Monreal's curled effort evades Forster's post.

Second Arsenal change - Xhaka off for Wilshere.

Bertrand wastes a glorious chance to make it 2-0. Tadic plays a wonderful reverse pass for Bertrand, who escapes the defender but fails to direct his shot on goal. What a huge moment that could be.

Romeu cracks the crossbar with a lovely driven effort!

Bertrand feeds the Spaniard, who is given all the time in the world to get a shot off. Romeu takes up the invitation and beats Cech, but he can't find the top corner.

Ozil shifts the ball wide to Kolasinac as Arsenal adopt a patient approach.

Ozil then feeds Ramsey, who is slipped through again by Sanchez, but Saints clear.

Kolasinac surges through Southampton but is topped in his tracks by Ward-Prowse. Arsenal come again through Ramsey, whose cross-cum-shot just evades Lacazette and the post.

All Arsenal so far. Probing, but no penetration. Southampton have started sloppily, giving the ball away far too cheaply.

Back underway for the second half at the St Mary's.

Lacazette's been in the wars.

Damning from Arsenal's social media team.

Half-time: Southampton 1-0 Arsenal

Austin's early strike gives the Saints a half-time lead. The forward could have had more to his name as he looked to punish Arsenal's shambolic defending, but the visitors were denied excellently by Forster as they tried to find a way back into the match.

Saints deservedly lead. Will Wenger's men respond?

Austin tries to turn provider as he dinks a ball to the back stick. His cross is just cut out, and Mertesacker eventually clears.

Southampton come again through Austin, whose low cross is gobbled up by Cech. Approaching half-time, 1-0.

Lacazette should do a lot better. Ballerina cuts the ball back for the Frenchman but his shot does not come close to troubling Forster. Lacazette felt the full force of Yoshida's late tackle after he got the shot off, but is okay to continue.

Fantastic save from Forster to deny Ramsey's low shot!

The Welshman finds space in the box and hits a well-struck effort on the swivel, but Forster gets down well to deny Arsenal an equaliser.

Southampton almost make it 2-0 as another teasing Ward-Prowse delivery causes mayhem. Bertrand nods it on, Van Dijk stabs at it, but Cech eventually gathers.

Ward-Prowse's dangerous delivery almost catches Cech, though he does just about punch clear. The Czech then beats away another set-piece before Stephens forces another corner.

Sanchez finds Ramsey with a clever dink, but the Welshman's effort on the turn does little to trouble Forster.

Bellerin then jinks past a couple of challenges and darts into the area, only to be met by the commanding Van Dijk.

We're experiencing a bit of a lull in proceedings after a fast-paced start from both sides.

Arsenal now exerting pressure but aren't overly working Forster, who punches away a meek cross.

Arsenal break with rapier-like speed on the counter through Bellerin, Sanchez and Lacazette. The Frenchman looks set to take aim, but Hojbjerg saves the day for the Saints. The ensuing corner is just about dealt with.

Sloppy play from Arsenal allows Ramsey to feed Ozil out wide. Southampton regroup and push the visitors back, and eventually look to counter before Redmond stupidly runs the ball out of play.

They certainly do.

This man is causing all sorts of problems so far.

Now Austin hits the post!

Bertrand surges forward and finds a sliding Austin with a lovely low cross. Austin rattles the post, but is adjudged offside again. Incredible start from the Saints.

Austin's in behind again as Bellerin makes another howler, but the forward is adjudged offside by the linesman. Major warning signs for Arsenal, who have so many gaps at the back, all of which are being exploited.

Southampton almost make it two though Austin!

Tadic feeds the forward, who is in acres of space as he surges towards goal, but Cech gets down well to save.

Austin wins a flick-on that Mertesacker fails to clear. Austin then plays the ball to Tadic, who lays a lovely reverse pass back into the striker's path, and the former QPR star finishes brilliantly past Cech.

GOAL! Southampton 1-0 Arsenal (Austin)

We are underway. Arsenal kicking off and passing it around their back three.

The teams are striding onto the St Mary's turf. Kick-off just moments away.

Some pre-match thoughts from Mauricio Pellegrino:

"We changed some players because we are thinking about this game and I have many players who can play, today I feel that in my squad they can play, I am thinking about the qualities and profiles.

"Jack [Stephens] is a player who was important but when we brought Wesley he got competition, he is ready to play right-back, hopefully it will be a good game for him."

15 minutes until the match begins at the St Mary's.

Will Southampton secure back-to-back wins for the first time this year, or will Arsenal banish the memory of THAT United game?

Some pre-match thoughts from Arsene Wenger:

"I would like a similar performance and different result [than the United game].

"It's a tough place to come, it's always a physical game, we have to start strong which we didn't last week, they are a good side, their players have good quality.

"I feel we have a positive dynamic but it has to be transformed into a positive result."

30 minutes to go until kick-off. Teams are warming up.

A reminder of today's teams:

Southampton: Forster, Stephens, van Dijk, Yoshida(c), Højbjerg, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Bertrand, Tadic, Redmond, Austin.

Arsenal: Čech; Koscielny, Mertesacker, Monreal; Bellerín, Ramsey, Xhaka, Kolasinac; Özil, Alexis, Lacazette.

Creativity has been sorely lacking for Southampton this season, but Pellegrino hopes to see an injection of it today.

This certainly doesn't bode well. Thousands of supporters struggling to make it to the huge matches today due to Storm Caroline.

Dreary conditions, but hopefully not a dreary game.

Arsenal have won two of their last seven away league matches, but Southampton's home record isn't exactly pristine.

The Saints scored just 10 goals in their last 15 league matches, and only won one of their last six games both home and away.

An update on the snowy conditions from shouty fan turned weatherman 'DT', of Arsenal Fan TV fame.

He and many more Arsenal fans look set to miss the match, which kicks off in around 45 minutes.

Arsenal have not beaten Southampton in consecutive away league games since 1997, but they did emerge victorious twice at the St Mary's Stadium last season.

The Gunners strode to a 5-0 FA Cup victory over the Saints in January before winning 2-0 in the league a few months later.

SUBSTITUTES

Southampton: Hoedt, Davis, McCarthy, Lemina, Boufal, Gabbiadini, Pied.

Arsenal: Ospina, Maitland-Niles, Coquelin, Wilshere, Iwobi, Welbeck, Giroud.

TEAM NEWS

Arsenal's starting line-up in text form:

Čech; Koscielny, Mertesacker, Monreal; Bellerín, Ramsey, Xhaka, Kolasinac; Özil, Alexis, Lacazette.

TEAM NEWS

Southampton's starting line-up in text form:

Forster, Stephens, van Dijk, Yoshida(c), Højbjerg, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Bertrand, Tadic, Redmond, Austin.

TEAM NEWS

Arsenal make just one change from the side that were beaten by United. Mertesacker in for the injured Mustafi. Pellegrino has made four.

TEAM NEWS

The hosts line up as follows.

Charlie Austin has proven his worth to the Saints in recent weeks, and Mauricio Pellegrino, who seemed reluctant to start the former QPR star during the heart of the season, hopes he can continue on the scoring path.

"We have to create chances to try and find in every single game a different solution, different ways to try to attack." Pellegrino said.

"I hope Charlie Austin can continue in the same way. He is in great goalscoring form and his confidence is high."

On the subject of Wilshere, former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson thinks it's high time the former Bolton Wanderers loanee sought pastures new.

"I think he has to leave anyway. I think come January he must sit on that bench and look at that midfield and think 'how do I not play in this team?' For me he has to leave and if he leaves he's got to go somewhere he's going to play," Merson told talkSPORT.

There have been calls for Jack Wilshere to start in the Premier League after impressing during Arsenal's Europa League campaign. Will Wenger see fit to give the once much vaunted midfielder a place in his starting line-up today? We'll soon find out.

The host are making their way into the dressing room on a cold winter's morning in Southampton. Gloves and long-sleeved shirts aplenty today, which will no doubt annoy some.

Arsenal are without one of their first-choice defenders for the clash at the St Mary's, but Southampton will also be without a prized defensive asset in Cedric Soares.

The Portugal international has a hamstring problem, meaning Jeremy Pied will assume his position at full-back. Shane Long, who hasn't scored for almost a year, is doubtful.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has almost all of his players to choose from ahead of Southampton, but Shkodran Mustafi will miss the clash in Hampshire.

"The only one out at the moment is Mustafi. He is certainly not available for Sunday. There's a little chance of him coming back for West Ham, but he will not be available for Sunday," Wenger said during his pre-match press conference, as quoted on Arsenal's official site.

"I believe that rotation allowed us to protect the players a little bit, and the players who didn't play in the Europa League haven't had to travel either, so that helped,"

Good morning and welcome to IB Times UK's live coverage of Southampton vs Arsenal.

Mauricio Pellegrino's side will be looking to build on their resounding victory against in their last home match, but they face an Arsenal side that has been in splendid form of late and will look to get back to winning ways after losing to Manchester United last weekend.

Stay with IB Times UK for the latest team news, updates and reaction to all the goings on at the St Mary's Stadium.