Southampton manager Ronald Koeman believes his side's trip to Arsenal on Tuesday night will provide a sterner test than their recent clash with Manchester United.

The South Coast club have been on a good run of form in the first few weeks of 2016, and Koeman was delighted to see January signing Charlie Austin come off the bench at Old Trafford to score the winning goal.

However, the Dutchman is under no illusions as to the difficulty of the task which his side faces at the Emirates, and has warned his players against complacency after Southampton won the last clash between the two 4-0 on Boxing Day.

Speaking with the club's official website ahead of the game, Koeman said that the game will be "a different test football-wise" than the Manchester United game, claiming that Arsenal's attack is more difficult to silence than United's.

Koeman pinpoints Sánchez threat

As a result, the manager was keen to stress that his side have to be at their best in terms of their defence, with the Gunners possessing "some great players" in the attacking third.

One man who Koeman highlighted in particular was returning Chilean Alexis Sánchez, who is in line to make his first league start in two months after a goalscoring return to action against Burnley in the FA Cup at the weekend.

Alexis Sanchez scores Arsenal's second goal against Burnley | Photo: John Sibley/Reuters
Alexis Sanchez scores Arsenal's second goal against Burnley | Photo: John Sibley/Reuters

Koeman described Sánchez as "a player who can win the game on his own", with the manager clearly feeling that stopping him will give his side a much better chance of coming away from North London with a positive result.

Saints attackers must take advantage of space

Despite the clear threat posed by the Arsenal front line, Koeman is confident that his own attacking players will have the space to make things happen, but they must capitalise better on this fact than in their recent win at Old Trafford, where he admitted his side "didn't play really well".

With Graziano Pellè still not at peak match fitness, Koeman could be tempted to give Austin his first start since joining the club in mid-January, though Shane Long's performance against Arsenal at St Mary's at the end of December could see the Irishman keep his place in the side.