Southampton coach Russell Martin was delighted with the performance of Nigeria internationals Paul Onuachu and Joe Aribo despite his side’s 3-1 loss to Arsenal in a Premier League encounter at the Emirates Stadium in London at the weekend.
The Saints are still searching for their first win after the opening seven matches in the new season, having lost six games while drawing once against fellow newcomers Ipswich Town.
For the first time in four matches, Aribo was named in the starting lineup, while Onuachu made his first appearance in the English top flight in 511 days.
After missing a penalty against Manchester United, Cameron Archer broke the deadlock in the 55th minute but goals from Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka secured a win for the Londoners.
Aribo managed to stop Leandro Trossard from pulling the trigger but Saka was quickest to react to the loose ball and slotted into the net in the 88th minute to extinguish any hopes of a Southampton comeback.
Aribo brought physicality to the Southampton midfield, while Onuachu did not do badly against two of the best central defenders in the Premier League Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Martin singled out Onuachu and Aribo for praise despite the loss to Arsenal.
“Paul came on and did really well today and I thought Rhino did a brilliant job for us too, a really brilliant job for us,” Martin told reporters.
“I think there was a level of trust in him and the team on the pitch today that they’ve all been through a lot of moments for us. Joe Aribo was outstanding.”
Nigeria’s interim manager Augustine Eguavoen has omitted Onuachu and Aribo from his squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Libya.
