Southampton vs Arsenal

Southampton’s farewell Premier League fixture pits them against perennial runners-up Arsenal at St Mary’s Stadium.

After enduring one of their most challenging Premier League campaigns, Southampton are set to play their final match of the season – a fixture that holds no bearing on their fate, as they are guaranteed to finish bottom. Only one point separates them from the infamous 2007/08 Derby County side, and a 30th league defeat would see the Saints become the first team in Premier League history to hit that unwanted milestone. Chances are they’re going to do just that. Indeed, they last won a home league match in November 2024, losing 11 of their 13 top-flight outings at St Mary’s since (D2), including five out of six against London visitors (D1). Conceding 19 goals across those six matches suggests this could be another long day for the Premier League basement boys. 

Meanwhile, Arsenal are on the verge of finishing second for a third consecutive campaign, and a point in their 50th Premier League encounter against Southampton will help them achieve just that (W26, D15, L8). However, Mikel Arteta’s men have faltered after realizing they could no longer win the title, picking up just two wins from their last seven league games (D4, L1). On the bright side, they’ve not lost their final-day clash on the road in the past 19 seasons (W17, D2). Furthermore, they’ve won their last-round Premier League fixture in the last 13 seasons! That’s not to mention they’ve won all five clashes against newly promoted clubs this term (W5), netting six unanswered goals across two such away games.