Hasenhuttl makes crucial tactical shift to help inspire Southampton result

It was an equaliser that would have seemed quite unlikely five minutes prior when Gabriel Jesus raced through on goal with the entire Saints defence desperately retreating.

READ MORE: Armstrong admits to wanting more starts after making 'important' Arsenal point

None of them got close to the Brazilian striker. But in a flash, there was one white shirt that started to make up the ground and by the time the eventual shot arrived, Moi Elyounoussi’s super-human effort was rewarded with the game-saving block.

The Norwegian was heavily involved shortly after, playing in Armstrong to score his first goal of the 2022/23 Premier League season and earn Saints a valuable draw against the league leaders.

It was a stunning turn of events sparked by Elyounoussi and while it might have seemed unlikely Saints would get a point as Jesus bore down on goal, it felt even more unlikely an hour earlier.

With Kyle Walker-Peters added to Saints’ rather extensive injury list with a hamstring problem picked up in the midweek victory at AFC Bournemouth, many expected Ralph Hasenhuttl to utilise a back five - just as he had done in the April win against Sunday’s opposition.

Instead though, the Austrian started with Lyanco at right back in his previously standard 4-2-2-2 system. It really didn’t work. From the opening whistle, Arsenal dominated proceedings and could have already been multiple goals to the good by the time Granit Xhaka did indeed volley them in front after ten minutes.

It’s no major criticism of Lyanco, neither experienced nor comfortable at right back, but Mikel Arteta’s side spotted the frailty and hit him hard with Gabriel Martinelli. Here is one example from the opening stages.

Arsenal cycle the ball wide to Martinelli and Lyanco steps up to face him. 

The winger comes inside and Lyanco follows until he’s right on top of fellow defender Duje Caleta-Car. Meanwhile, Xhaka has taken up the space out wide vacated by Lyanco.

After playing it into Jesus, the ball finds its way to Xhaka on the side of the box and the midfielder forces a very decent save from Gavin Bazunu.

Following a flurry of early escapes, Arsenal did get their goal and with the momentum of the game only heading in one direction, there was an ominous feel around St Mary's, akin to last season's 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea.

On that day it took Hasenhuttl nearly 40 minutes to make a change and by that point, the game was long decided. This time, he acted much quicker. Lyanco clearly needed some help as well as the opportunity to play a more natural role so Hasenhuttl shifted to the back five most had expected to see from the start with Elyounoussi at right-wing-back.

One could criticise Hasenhuttl for not starting with this shape but he also deserves credit for a switch that worked to change the flow and ultimately, the outcome, of the 90 minutes.

There were a multitude of factors that played into Saints’ response but the altered roles of Elyounoussi and Romain Perraud were central to it all. While Elyounoussi’s two big second half moments took the plaudits, it was he and his wing-back partner’s all-action roles that allowed Saints to turn the tide against the Gunners.

While Perraud began in a defensive-first position with Elyounoussi in the side to support the attack, they largely swapped jobs after the opening salvo with the right-sided player dropping deeper and deeper to mark Martinelli and support Lyanco while the Frenchman became a cannon launched into Arsenal’s half.

In the opening 20 minutes of Sunday’s clash, Perraud had 13 touches of the ball - all 13 coming in Saints’ defensive half. For the remaining 70 minutes plus stoppage time, Perraud racked up 34 touches - 24 of them (70.5%) coming in Saints’ attacking half.

Meanwhile, Elyounoussi touched the ball more frequently in the attacking half than defensive (24 vs 23), but that split is far more even than Perraud’s.

But there are more intricacies to this. Looking at the touch maps from the two players in the final 70 minutes on Sunday paints a further picture. Elyounoussi (right) spent much of his time tucked inside defensively to aid Lyanco and the Saints’ backline while Perraud (left) stuck wider on the defensive front while coming inside when his team was in attack.

The opposite roles were also crucial to both of the second half’s biggest moments.

In the first, Saints are in a world of trouble as Martin Odegaard breaks away with the ball, Caleta-Car the only defender left and lacking the pace or positioning, in this case, to do anything about the on-rushing Arsenal players.

Elyounoussi and Perraud can be seen in their previously described wing-back roles. Perraud is high and wide while Elyounoussi is deeper and tucked inside.

Arsenal break and Odegaard passes it through to Jesus. Fortunately, thanks to Elyounoussi’s starting position - and a healthy dose of sheer effort - the 28-year-old is able to make up the ground…

…to eventually get his toe to the ball as Jesus fires at goal one on one with Bazunu.

On the defensive side, this was a benefit of the system Saints switched to and it also led to success in attack. In the passage of play leading to Stuart Armstrong’s equalising goal, Perraud is the highest Saints player along with Adam Armstrong.

Salisu passes the ball in the direction of Joe Aribo who intelligently dummies it for Perraud, himself coming inside to receive it. It’s only at this point that Elyounoussi even enters the shot such is the depth of his starting position.

Perraud plays it to Elyounoussi with space in front of him to attack. The wing-back takes up the charge.

The Arsenal players in the vicinity all have their eyes on Elyounoussi and while he says he considered shooting, he picks the right option in the end - feeding it through to Armstrong to score.

Saints pushed for a winner but ultimately had to settle for a point. That relative disappointment is in itself a reflection of the positive performance Saints managed to put together.

It’s a stark emotional contrast from the opening moments in which anything but a heavy drubbing would have been taken as a minor success.

The tactical tweak to a back five was no doubt at least in part due to Hasenhuttl’s tinkering as were the impressive performances from both Elyounoussi and Perraud.

Speaking after the 1-1 draw, Hasenhuttl explained why they had to move to their 'plan B'.

“We had during the week some issues with injuries and that made it a little bit difficult to prepare for it," the Austrian explained. "Without a right-back it's quite tough.

“We tried something in the first half that didn't really work so we had the plan B in our back pocket. We took this one out and it worked much better.

“Still, it’s not everything to defend against this group because they are so strong on the ball and so tough to defend you need a bit of luck and very good commitment in the back. And with a back five it was a little bit easier.”

Of course, none of that would have ended up meaning anything without the match-deciding moments from Saints' newest right-wing-back.

“We have the situation with Moi where we are one time open and concede a counter-attack, he makes a brilliant save because if we concede a second goal the game is gone," Hasenhutt said. "Very often you get the reward when you are brave.

"For me, the decisive scene was when Moi [Elyounoussi] made the big save against Gabriel Jesus. For me, he was our player of the match. We put him in the wing-back position suddenly and I don’t know how many positions he has so far played in this team since I’m here but you can trust him everywhere. When he does what he does with his discipline, with his effort, it’s amazing to watch."

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