Classic Arsenal: Ozil muzzled as Gunners continue to lurch between hope and despair

Arsenal tend to lurch between extremes, but even by their standards the 4-0 defeat to Southampton on Boxing Day was an embarrassment that blew the Premier League title race wide open.

The Gunners were swatted aside just days after their impressive victory over their biggest title rivals Manchester City in a result that summed up a boom and bust season in the top flight.

Arsenal’s defeat should not be over-analysed because Arsene Wenger’s side are still best-placed to win the title, sitting two points behind leaders Leicester who also lost on Saturday away at Liverpool.

Just as the defeat to City did not mean that Premier League glory was a certainty, nor does their defeat on the south coast destroy their hopes.

But fans of the north London club have been served a reminder that this is Arsenal, the team that lurches more than any other between hope and despair.

This was classic Arsenal. Just when they had established themselves as favourites to win the league for the first time since 2004, they contrived to implode in quite spectacular fashion.

Arsenal came into this fixture on the back of four consecutive wins in all competitions in which Mesut Ozil had played a starring role, having taken his assist tally to 15 in the league so far.

On Saturday, however, Southampton muzzled Ozil and nullified Arsenal. The German barely had an opportunity to play his customary killer passes in the final third as the hosts denied him time and space, particularly through the aggressiveness of Victor Wanyama, a player linked with a January move to Emirates Stadium.

Stop Ozil, stop Arsenal? On this evidence, it is the tactic that every opponent will use to take on Wenger’s men for the rest of the campaign.

Arsenal’s injury crisis means that Ozil has been forced to carry much of the burden on his own in recent weeks, with Alexis Sanchez’s influence in the final third particularly missed.

Southampton’s goals came gift-wrapped in this festive fixture in an ineffectual display as Arsenal timidly rolled over and failed to grasp the opportunity to move to top spot in the Premier League table.

Arsenal had taken on the aura of a team marching towards the title in the build-up to their trip to St Mary’s on the back of one defeat in 11 league games, with a sense building that they remain the calm in a storm of top teams embroiled in varying states of turmoil.

That was exposed by Southampton, particularly in the second-half as they tore Arsenal apart after Cuco Martina’s stunning 30-yard strike had given the hosts a one-goal lead at the break.

Shane Long tucked in the second from close range before Jose Fonte headed in the Saints’ third of the night.

Irishman Long slammed the fourth through the legs of Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech late on to rubber stamp the result as the visitors’ were brought crashing back to reality.

“I don’t take the score into consideration too much but they were sharper than us in the decisive challenge,” said Arsenal manager Wenger. “We were a bit unlucky as well. We were exposed on counter-attacks, it is a disappointing result.”

Disappointing is an understatement. A chance to make a statement was blown, the opportunity to continue the positive momentum of recent weeks wasted.

If Arsenal are to win the title this season, this result confirmed what their supporters already knew. There is always a risk the ‘old Arsenal’ will resurface.

They will not do it the easy way, and they cannot afford to depend on Ozil, because even the best players have their quiet games.