Stuart Armstrong’s performance against Fulham was one of the very few positives that Southampton could have taken away from Craven Cottage on Saturday.
The attacking midfielder made his second consecutive Premier League start for the Saints following an impressive spell away with Scotland during the international break.
Armstrong has endured a mixed start to life in England. Following his £7 million move from Celtic in the summer, he impressed in pre-season under Mark Hughes and looked set to be a vital cog in the manager’s plans for the upcoming campaign.
Operating just ahead of a double pivot in midfield and closely behind two forward players, Armstrong appeared to be the man who Southampton called upon to provide them with movement between the lines and creativity.
In friendly fixtures, the 26-year-old caught the eye and was a standout performer on several occasions, leaving Saints fans excited in the anticipation of his introduction to Premier League football.
Armstrong started in Southampton’s opening match of the season against Burnley and looked sharp until he was forced off with a knock. This frustrating injury for the Scotsman coincided with Hughes’ decision to abort his plans to utilise a system containing a number 10, as he proceeded to favour a more orthodox 4-4-2 setup.
Southampton began to utilise a midfield partnership of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Mario Lemina, with no room for Armstrong in a more advanced role as Danny Ings and one of Charlie Austin or Shane Long headed up the attack.
The former Dundee United youngster then found regular game time hard to come by. Armstrong made just one start before he returned to the team against Watford earlier in November, and this came in Saints’ win against Brighton and Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup.
On some occasions, the playmaker was not even included in Hughes’ matchday squad. In Premier League fixtures against Crystal Palace, Brighton and Chelsea, Armstrong was totally excluded from the 18-man selection, with the likes of Steven Davis and James Ward-Prowse respectively given the nod ahead of him.
Hughes’ decision to overlook Armstrong was perplexing at early stages of the season and this call from the Saints boss has been made to appear all the more confusing following the player’s resurgence in recent times.
Armstrong turned in a quite excellent display despite Southampton’s 3-2 defeat at Fulham. He netted both of his side’s goals and performed with composure, intelligence and desire.
It was the performance of a man on a mission; a player who had channelled his frustration into determination to take his chances, and he duly delivered when the opportunities came.
Armstrong netted the opening goal of the game in trademark fashion. He arrived late into the box and capitalised on a loose clearance, controlling and poking home in simple but effective fashion.
His second of the afternoon was more stylish yet still reminiscent of his strikes at Celtic. Armstrong thumped the ball into the top corner of Sergio Rico’s net after a neat backheel from Cedric Soares on the edge of the box, levelling the match temporarily.
For many years now, Southampton have been damaged by the absence of a goalscoring midfielder; someone who is capable of reading the game in the final third and making intelligent decisions, arriving late in the area to clean up the mess that the team’s strikers have so often left in recent seasons.
In Armstrong, however, they have found a midfielder who can provide these qualities and contribute in advanced areas, helping to transition play forward from deep before finding clever positions in pockets of space.
Southampton’s goalscoring woes have been well documented for some time, with an emphasis placed upon the squad’s shortage of ruthless strikers. But the burden must not rest only on the shoulders of players such as Ings, and the presence of Armstrong is sure to go some way in aiding the Saints.
Hughes appears to have finally realised the importance of a player such as the Scotland international between the lines. 4-4-2 can work against some teams but with a one-dimensional midfield pair containing little attacking prowess shared between them clearly preferred by the manager, a creative central attacking midfielder is imperative.
Armstrong does the simple things very well and is an intelligent footballer. This is more than what can be said about several members of Southampton’s current first-team squad, and the summer signing could prove to be key this season.
