Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has declared Southampton's coaches as "miracle workers".
Arsenal meet Southampton in the Capital One Cup.
Wenger has been impressed by the calibre of players produced by the south coast club, who also schooled the raw talents of Real Madrid star Gareth Bale.
"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. They have done a fantastic job at Southampton, they deserve a lot of credit," said Wenger.
The Gunners boss has been impressed by the achievements of Ronald Koeman, who took over a difficult job in the summer following the departure of former boss Mauricio Pochettino to Tottenham as well as the sale of several key men.
"They are miracle workers at Southampton and you must say everybody expected them to collapse, they lost the spine of their team, they lost their manager and they bounced back in a such a way," added Wenger, whose side put recent inconsistencies behind them with an impressive 3-0 win at Aston Villa on Saturday.
"I must say when I saw them against Liverpool where they lost the game, I thought straight away that this team is very strong and very good."
For the big stories and the banter follow us on Twitter: @tribalfootball