Arsene Wenger has described Saints as “miracle workers” following their superb start to the season.

The Arsenal manager, whose team hosts Ronald Koeman's side in the Capital One Cup tonight, has been impressed by the club's response to a turbulent summer.

“They are miracle workers at Southampton, and you must say everybody expected them to collapse,” he said.

“They lost the spine of their team, they lost their manager and they bounced back.”

“I must say when I saw them against Liverpool, where they lost the game (on the opening weekend of the season), I thought straight away that this team is very strong and very good.”

Wenger has long been an admirer of Saints' work, and has purchased three of their academy products over the years – Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and, most recently, £16m defender Calum Chambers.

“I think if you look at the talents they have sold over the years, they could have been contenders to win the Premier League, because they lost Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, Bale, plus all the players they lost last season, plus all the players they still have,” he said.

“They have done a fantastic job at Southampton. They deserve a lot of credit.”