Arsenal's New Signings Will Hope to Improve Upon Their Debut Display

EMIRATES STADIUM, London—Against Southampton, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger handed debuts to Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez. Both players were recruited from La Liga in the final few days of the transfer window, and the Gunners boss clearly felt they were ready to make an immediate impact.

However, neither quite made the impression they would have hoped for. Although they came away with three points, this was a difficult day for Arsenal—and their debutants found it tougher than most. 

Had this been a great Arsenal performance, it would have been easier. It’s far easier to fit into a side that is firing on all cylinders, but the Gunners looked decidedly rusty after returning from the international break. 

That’s often the way—when the squad disperse to represent their countries it can be difficult to jell immediately upon reconvening. However, when that’s the case the manager should take steps to ensure there is as much continuity as possible. In this instance, Wenger chose to break up the three partnerships which were integral in Arsenal’s victory over Watford in their previous Premier League game.

That trio of pairings included Rob Holding and Laurent Koscielny, Granit Xhaka and Santi Cazorla, and Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez. Leaving out Holding made sense, especially given the availability of the more experienced Mustafi, but it was difficult to find a logic for breaking up Xhaka and Cazorla. Those two were imperious at Vicarage Road—with two gifted passers anchoring the midfield, Arsenal were able to control possession against the Hornets. 

This time, Francis Coquelin started ahead of Xhaka. The Arsenal academy product is not able to match the Swiss international’s technical ability, and consequently Wenger’s men struggled to dominate the ball in quite the same way.

Up top, Ozil and Alexis had been irresistible last time out. Although the Chilean had struggled to make an impact as a centre-forward in Arsenal’s first two Premier League games, with Ozil behind him he suddenly came to life. However, after returning from international duty late on Thursday night, Alexis began from the bench against Southampton. In his place, Lucas made his first start in English football. 

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Wenger’s changes were well-intentioned. He doubtless had the forthcoming fixture against Paris Saint-Germain in his mind. Xhaka and Alexis could probably have started against Southampton, but they might have suffered for it on Tuesday night.

Wenger has a large squad at his disposal now, and was simply seeking to juggle it sensibly. Unfortunately, he did not get the balance quite right—there was too much disruption, and Arsenal struggled to find fluency. 

Despite some concerns over the lineup, there was at least plenty of excitement about seeing the new signings in action. However, the buoyant atmosphere around the Emirates Stadium faded swiftly, especially when Southampton took the lead via a Petr Cech own goal after just 18 minutes.

Ultimately a goal from Koscielny and a stoppage-time penalty from Cazorla enabled Arsenal to claw their way back to a win. Nevertheless, this was not a memorable performance—and Mustafi and Perez would surely admit it was far from a dream debut. 

Asked to assess their performances, Wenger told Arsenal.com:

"

I feel both are short [of fitness] a bit, they lack competition and their second half was much better than their first half. They were a bit surprised by the pace and the commitment of the Premier League [but] they will adapt to that. As well, they were a bit on their nerves in the first half. In the second it was much better.

He has had one game in La Liga, and then he didn’t play many more because they knew he would go. Mustafi has only played one half since the start of the season with Valencia, so they are missing games. 

"

Mustafi has played in this country before with Everton, but still seemed taken aback by the physicality of the game. According to Squawka, he won just two of his five headed duels. If he is to effectively become Per Mertesacker’s replacement, his aerial ability must improve. 

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There were also a couple of occasions in which his distribution seemed hurried. However, that’s as much to do with Arsenal’s dysfunctional midfield. In the first half, Cazorla and Coquelin were curiously unwilling to drop deep and pick the ball up off the back four, forcing Mustafi to be unnecessarily ambitious in his passing. 

Speaking to goal.com after the match, the German international seemed satisfied with his first Arsenal game:

"

If you don't concentrate for 90 minutes, you lose points. So we concentrated and we were in the game until the end, and that's what gave us the win. 

I'm happy for the three points, first of all. But I'm also happy with how the supporters have received me here and how the team have made me feel part of it.

"

Nevertheless, he’ll know he can and will do better in future.

As for Lucas, his greatest problem was a lack of service. Aside from one blocked shot, he didn’t muster an attempt at Fraser Forster’s goal. He wasn’t helped by the fact Ozil had an unusually poor day, while on the flanks Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott showed themselves to be some way short of Alexis in terms of quality. When the former Barcelona man came on for Oxlade-Chamberlain, the Gunners suddenly came to life.

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

Olivier Giroud came off the bench to win the penalty that gave Arsenal the win, and one would imagine he’ll get the nod to play in Paris next week. Lucas’ first task is to show he deserved to start ahead of the powerful Frenchman.

There will be plenty of other opportunities for the new boys to impress—Mustafi, for instance, is almost certain to start at the Parc des Princes. Now that they’re over their nerves—and the shock of the sheer pace of the Premier League—they should be in a better position to show their best.

Against Southampton, Arsenal produced a forgettable performance, but it was nevertheless a significant result. The most important thing, after all, was that the new boys got off to a winning start. Lucas and Mustafi will hope to improve as individuals, but the team’s fortunes must always come first.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout 2016/17. Follow him on Twitter here.