It’s match day and whilst the focus should be on who are the best and fittest players available to be selected today to try to get us back on track and winning at home to Southampton, unfortunately we are once again dealing with some problems in the Arsenal camp, or at least what looks like problems from the outside.

Yesterday’s press conference took place, Mikel Arteta was asked a few questions and specifically he was asked about his captain, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He was asked if he would start after being benched and Arteta gave a vague answer about how the intention of the players starting and from the bench are to try to improve the team. Very non-descript. But he was then asked about his relationship with Auba and his response was:

I don’t know, I have a very good relationship with my players. Everyone has to understand that I always do the best for this club and for this team. And often if that can benefit any individuals, I will always do it. The decisions are not personal, the decisions are just to get performance, and the best out of the team. That’s it.

Again, not really answering the question properly, which starts to get you thinking that there is actually something wrong here. Fast forward a few hours and Charles Watts from Goal is reporting that Aubameyang will miss tomorrow because of an illness. There’s no doubt that Charles is a respected journalist and he doesn’t crack on with stories like that unless there is some information he has been given. In addition to that Aubameyang was not pictured in any training pictures on the official site during the day. But what most of us then saw post that story from Charles, was a picture from a tattoo artists instagram with Aubameyang smiling as he gets a new tattoo.

Oh dear. It appears we now have a problem. And the timing could not be worse. People can talk all they like about how Aubameyang is out of form, hasn’t been scoring goals, but the other options are a Lacazette with one goal and about three shots all season, Martinelli who has only just started playing this season with any regularity and came off injured against Everton, let alone the fact he hasn’t been playing much as the central striker, followed by a guy in Eddie Nketiah who won’t sign a new deal and wants out of the club. Yet Eddie got some game time at left wing on Monday and in yesterday’s press conference Arteta was talking him up again as an option for us. We’ll leave aside the fact we have some contractual issued with him that I feel should mean he doesn’t get anywhere near the first team, I also think he is also nowhere near the required level to be a regular at Arsenal. Yet Arteta was talking up trying to get a new deal for the guy and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he led the line this afternoon.

What. A. Mess. And it is another drama in the Arteta reign. It is another instance where he’s fallen out with a first team player and you have to wonder when we can just get a period of time when there is not going to be an issue with a player under this manager. He loves to torch the relationship with some players it seems and this is just the latest example of it.

Now, the good news is that from an Arteta perspective it is recoverable for him, because winning football matches trumps all else. But we haven’t been doing that of late and unless he picks up three points today, I can see the winds of change and discontent gathering pace amongst the fanbase. You can probably even tell it in my tone of voice today. I am getting restless and with every instance like this that is followed by a poor performance, I am starting to lose more and more faith in ‘The Process’. But I am not a fan who has an opinion and is willing to die on that hill of that opinion. If Arteta wins the next 10 games in a row then I am back on the bandwagon. But as it stands I am leaning over the side seeing if said wagon is starting to slow so I can potentially exit.

I don’t want to though. I want a win today and it is a game that Arsenal should be looking to win if we are going to get anywhere near our objectives this season. Southampton are a good team, a tough team, a decent intensity press team under Hassenhuttl, but they are missing both of their goalkeepers through injury and are having to play Caballero this afternoon. So we simply must make him work and that means creating chances for whoever plays up front. Personally I’d be looking at Martinelli, with Saka and Smith Rowe either side – if both are fit. If not then get Pepe in there, with Odegaard playing in the middle. The midfield should see Sambi return, but whether that is for Xhaka or Partey I’m still not sure about. I’m leaning towards Xhaka but only because Partey is out of form and Xhaka needs minutes before Partey disappears off to the AFCON. However if Xhka can’t do two games in a week then I wonder if he will be rested, as we have West Ham on Wednesday.

As for defence I think that picks itself really. Get Tierney in there and play the rest of the team that is established, with a hope that Ben White improves his form.

Southampton have their ‘keepers out injured and Romeu is also suspended. They have Che Adams as a doubt but that big bar steward Bednarek is back. They’ll look to the likes of Ward-Prowse and Adam Armstrong to deliver in attack and I suspect it will be a case of strong defence with a rapid counter that we’ll see today because Southampton’s away form hasn’t been great and our home form is half decent. That usually only points in one direction i.e. an Arsenal defeat because we are the team that loves a gift, as the last two games have shown.

I just hope that I am proved wrong today. We need to get back to winning ways. Or this Arsenal team really could be in that negative death spiral that we’ve seen in the last two seasons. And if we are then I don’t think Arteta should – or will – survive it.