Kai Havertz has returned to fitness at an important point in the season for Arsenal, and was one of the few Arsenal players who didn’t pull out of their international camp over the recent two week break.

Havertz scored over the international break with a goal against Ghana for Germany, which should give him confidence ahead of a busy end to the season for Arsenal with the Gunners still fighting on three fronts.

Havertz hasn’t featured that much at all this season, so we can use last season’s stats as a benchmark for him. Havertz netted nine goals across his 21 starts in the Premier League last season from 21 shots on target overall (1.01 per 90). 

Havertz maintained a similar level in the Champions League last term (1.12 shots on target per 90), netting four goals across his six starts. These numbers suggest that Havertz is a very useful player for Arsenal, and can give the likes of Gyokeres a rest in these sort of games as a reliable deputy.

I’ve been impressed with Shea Charles this season, and think he’s nearing a spot in the Premier League with the calibre of his performances for Southampton this season.

He is going to have more defensive duties than usual here with Arsenal likely to dominate the ball and draw fouls from Southampton’s midfield. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Max Dowman get a start here, both Eze and Odegaard are set to be sidelined for this clash which could open the door for the youngster following his strike against Everton last month.

Charles has committed 27 fouls across his 16 starts in the Championship this season (1.54 per 90), so we’re looking for a slight rise in his foul numbers this term - but that should come against the quality and dominance of this Arsenal side. 

Dowman started Arsenal’s most recent game in the FA Cup as they won away at Mansfield, drawing three fouls in his 77 minute cameo. This is a small sample size, but Dowman will grow to be a player that is reliable when it comes to winning fouls.

I expect Arsenal to rotate their side quite significantly for this clash, with multiple players set to be sidelined following a damaging international break for Arsenal when it comes to player fitness.

Arsenal also contest the first leg of their Champions League clash against Sporting next week, so that is likely to be the focus for Arteta. Arsenal rotated heavily for their win over Mansfield in the last round of the FA Cup, a clash that produced three goals as Arsenal came away 2-1 winners.

Southampton should be able to assist with the overall goal count here as well, they enter this game unbeaten across their last 14 matches and will be aware of the slim squad that the Gunners are currently operating with. 

Southampton have netted 29 goals across their 19 home matches in the Championship this term (1.52 per 90), suggesting that they can cause Arsenal problems and make the most of what is likely to be the thinnest squad Arteta is able to choose from this season.

Arsenal and corners are a natural match with how often the Gunners look to use corners as a weapon in their attacking arsenal. Arteta hasn’t moved away from utilising corners as an effective route to goal, despite some criticism about the antics that Arsenal players get up to in the box.

Arsenal saw 12 match corners in the last round of the FA Cup as they overcame Mansfield 2-1. Mansfield managed to register four corners themselves to create this corner count, and Southampton can contribute to a similar degree here to get us over the line we need for this FA Cup clash.

Southampton saw 19 match corners in their 1-0 win over Fulham in the last round of the FA Cup, with the Cottagers contributing with 15 of these. This would suggest that Arsenal can do the bulk of the work here when it comes to reaching this corner count, with Southampton topping up the tally with a few set piece situations themselves.

Pau Cubarsi has picked up three yellow cards across his last five starts for Barcelona.

Barcelona’s bold approach under Hansi Flick sees them play with a high line, leaving Cubarsi exposed at times when players make runs from deep beyond their defensive line.

Cubarsi has committed a foul in each of the three head to head meetings between these sides this season - two of those games saw his centre back partner shown a card. 

Le Normand is one of the most aggressive centre backs in LaLiga, averaging 1.02 fouls committed per 90 and collecting three yellow cards across just 11 starts.

Le Normand picked up eight yellow cards across his 24 starts in LaLiga last season - only Clement Lenglet (9) picked up more cards than Le Normand for Atletico last term. 

Le Normand will face up against Robert Lewandowski, who is very strong at holding the ball up and has won 15 fouls across his 12 starts in LaLiga this term (1.14 per 90).