Arsene Wenger: Critics “would like to put me in jail”

The Gunners though are unbeaten in their last six games, having won five of those.

Danny Welbeck scored twice and Theo Walcott bagged a hat-trick as Arsenal cruised past a hapless Southampton in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday.

Arsene Wenger rested some of his regulars too and fielded a line-up that included the unheralded Jeff Reine Adelaide and Ashley Maitland-Niles, but Southampton seemed more than a little distracted by their midweek exertions at Liverpool, which had earned the treat of a league cup final at Wembley next month.

“It has been a frightful few months, particularly with the injury just before but it was great to be back and scoring goals”.

“We have very important games against Swansea and West Ham coming up”. In his absence, Mohamed Elneny may cover the midfield anchorman role.

“The player who played the most in our team offensively is basically [Alexis] Sanchez”. The Spaniard is expected to be fit in March.

However, as the landscape in the Premier League changes constantly, the Gunners know they must scoop the points from their home games to remain relevant in the title picture.

The 26-year-old doubled the Gunners’ lead seven minutes later when he collected a superb throughball from Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain and although his first touch wasn’t ideal, it allowed him to steady himself before slotting the ball under the onrushing Harry Lewis.

“Of course he’s done enough to keep his place but at the moment we have to be cautious with him”.

New forwards Mauro Zarate and M’Baye Niang will both be pushing for a start at the Emirates, but may well be used off the bench in the second half.

Today on the South Coast Bould was attempting to show his nous as a Premier League manager – or at least, in the parlance of David Brent’s timeless comedy The Office – assistant to the manager.

There is a long list of injuries for the Hornets.

Christian Kabasele may return from injury, while Valon Behrami (hamstring), Nordin Amrabat (ankle) and Isaac Success (hamstring) are all doubts. Santi Cazorla missed most of this season due to injuries, and is another huge absentee for the Gunners.

In the US, the match will be live on Premier League Extra Time and NBC Sports Live.

Watch Southampton vs Arsenal Live Streaming on BT Sport 2 TV Channel.

Welbeck put Arsenal ahead with his first goal since the victor in a 1-0 victory over Norwich on April 30 previous year and added a second before Walcott got in on the act before the break, adding two more in the second half.

“They are not in the Europa League or the Champions League”. Four wins and a draw since those defeats has seen Arsenal rise to 2nd in the league, hot on leaders Chelsea’s tails.