Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl delivers brutal Arsenal verdict ahead of Chelsea encounter
After playing both Arsenal and Chelsea in recent weeks, Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl believes there is a “difference in quality” between the two clubs.
The Blues won 6-0 at St. Mary’s 10 days ago, while Arsenal’s Champions League hopes suffered another setback, with Jan Bednarek’s goal just before halftime enough to secure all three points for the Saints.
And, with Southampton being eight points clear of Arsenal, Southampton manager Thomas Tuchel was eager to stress out the distinctions between playing the European Champions and Mikel Arteta’s team.
When asked about the disparity in performances during his pre-match press conference, Hasenhuttl explained:
“It is a Champions League winning team [Chelsea] and I think they are still a step forward from a team like Arsenal.
“They [Arsenal] have also shown some good moments this season, but I think there is still a gap to the Chelsea team from the quality – I must say this is why we could defend against them a little bit better.”
The 54-year-old also used the Blues’ Champions League performance against Real Madrid to demonstrate how difficult Tuchel’s attacking options are for any team in the world to stop.
“I know they [Arsenal] had some injury issues and Chelsea were on fire against us. Yes, you can say we played a very different way, with an offensive way of defending against them, and last time a bit more of a passive way.
“But I think Chelsea have shown against Real Madrid that they can also score a few goals, this is not so easy to prevent for any team in the world, and it is hard against them when they are on fire.”
Following the humiliating defeat, in which Mason Mount and Timo Werner shone, Hasenhuttl stated that his team believed they had a chance against the Gunners, and that their 3-0 defeat earlier in the season helped them win.
He added: “For us, it was about showing a reaction and we knew against Arsenal we had a chance at home, and we have had the first game against them where we played well for the first 15 minutes but ended up losing 3-0.
“We have changed a few things and we have been more compact and less in possession. It worked quite well. It doesn’t mean we can always play like this, but for this game it was the right way to go.”
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Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl delivers brutal Arsenal verdict ahead of Chelsea encounter
