Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says Ronald Koeman can help Southampton end the season in the top four.
The Saints enjoyed an impressive start to the season, losing only three games in the Premier League and causing a major upset in September when they eliminated the Gunners from the Capital One Cup.
"He [Ronald Koeman] has done very well. He came without making too much noise and did the job," Wenger said..
"[When you consider] the exodus that happened at the end of the season, their form is a surprise
"But if you analyse their team, they have the stability defensively.
"In midfield, they have the same players to last year, so that should not be so surprising. The strikers they have bought - Saido Mane, Graziano Pelle, Dusan Tadic - have integrated very well into the system and have been very efficient.
"If you look at their number of points and the number of games they've played, you have to consider them [for a top-four finish], yes. If they can maintain their run, yes. We'll know more about it in March.
"At Christmas last season, they were in a very strong position and the fact that they could renew that shows that they have stability in their performances."
Asked to give an update on injured players, the Frenchman said: "[Wojciech] Szczesny is still out.
"We have some question marks about [Kieran] Gibbs, [Nacho] Monreal and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Everybody else looks like being available.
"Laurent Koscielny just came back after a long time and we will see how he responds.
"Mathieu Debuchy is training. Could he be involved next week? Certainly. David Ospina as well, one week. Yaya Sanogo is all right now."
