Ray Wilkins feels Arsenal lacked cutting edge against Southampton, and has questioned why Olivier Giroud isn’t starting.

Arsenal struggled to find a way through a packed Southampton defence, while leaving their own defence perilously open. Charlie Austin gave Southampton an early lead after a mistake from Per Mertesacker.

It took Arsenal until the final ten minutes of the game to find an equaliser through Olivier Giroud. And in his assessment of the game for Sky Sports, Wilkins believes the Frenchman should be starting more often.

“I thought this was going to be an Arsenal win all day long,” Wilkins said. “They weren’t really in it. They had plenty of possession, as you would expect, but they really seem to be lacking this cutting edge at the moment.

“They keep having to rely on Olivier Giroud from the bench. I am not sure why he is not starting.”

He graded Arsenal “B”, which is perhaps generous for a performance that lacked cutting edge, solid defending and anyone who could use the ball competently.

Arsenal started slow, were punished in the exact same way they were against Manchester United, and then spent the rest of game trying to find an equaliser.

While there were chances galore against United, we struggled to make anything dangerous. The only way through was to go aerial, and Olivier Giroud duly delivered a fine header.

His record off the bench continues to impress, but Arsenal do need to address the lack of chances they’re creating for Alexandre Lacazette.