7 talking points as Arsenal leave Southampton thriller with regret despite draw
Arsenal could only salvage a draw after being 3-1 down at home to struggling Southampton, a result which dents their Premier League title hopes and leaves Manchester City in control.
Courtesy of Aaron Ramsdale 's misplaced pass, Southampton took the lead with only 27 seconds on the clock through the electric Carlos Alcaraz, who then assisted Theo Walcott 's goal to make it 2-0 after 14 minutes. Arsenal soon responded through Gabriel Martinelli, scoring his eighth goal in 10 Premier League games.
Despite the Gunners' onslaught either side of half-time, it was Southampton who scored the next goal as Duje Caleta-Car headed home from a rare Saints attack. Martin Odegaard 's late curler then ignited the comeback for Arsenal before Bukayo Saka struck in the 90th minute to make it 3-3, the Gunners' third successive draw.
City, now five points behind, still have two games in hand and welcome Arsenal to Manchester next Wednesday for a potential title decider. As for Southampton, it could be a valuable point, but the Saints are still rooted to the bottom of the table.
Here are seven talking points from the Emirates.
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1. More shuffling for Arteta
When the team sheets came through at 7pm, Arsenal fans were relieved to see Oleksandr Zinchenko's name in the starting XI. But where was Granit Xhaka?
Ill and unable to make it to the team hotel on Friday morning, Mikel Arteta revealed pre-match. The Gunners are enduring their fair share of injuries as the run-in looms, with centre-back William Saliba potentially not playing again this season - not that Gary Neville is impressed with any Arsenal supporters complaining.
"It is causing them a problem but look, I cannot listen to that (complaints over injuries) because every team this season has lost players at certain times," Neville told Sky Sports ahead of the game. "City won the league three years ago against an unbelievable Liverpool team when Kevin De Bruyne was missing for quite a part of the season."
Mikel Arteta was forced to tinker with his starting XI once again (David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)2. Whatever De Gea can do...
Not for the first time in 2023, a relegation candidate from the south coast scored at the Emirates before plenty of fans got to their seats. After Bournemouth struck after just 10 seconds in March, Southampton thought they'd have a go early doors.
Fortunately, Aaron Ramsdale gifted the Saints an early leg up when his pass went straight to Carlos Alcaraz and Southampton's influential January signing made no mistake to punish the Arsenal goalkeeper with his third goal for the club. Ramsdale's stray pass was reminiscent of David de Gea's error on Thursday night as Manchester United crashed out of the Europa League - even if United's goalkeeper managed to actually find his man in Harry Maguire.
At least they couldn't squander a 2-0 lead this time...
Aaron Ramsdale's misplaced pass led to Arsenal being 1-0 down after 27 seconds (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)3. Walcott adds to the wobble
After such a wretched start, surely things couldn't get any worse for Arsenal. Well, after a positive response, the Gunners wobbled again when Martin Odegaard lost possession in midfield and allowed Alcaraz to release Theo Walcott up against the right-hand side of Arsenal's defence.
Getting in behind Zinchenko and Gabriel Magalhaes, the former Gunners hero slotted home and made it 2-0 to stun his old stomping ground in the 14th minute. As he respectfully chose not to celebrate, Arsenal's players were called into a huddle by Zinchenko.
Despite Neville's remarks of it being "extremly strange," it got the desired reaction.
Theo Walcott refused to celebrate against his former club (Julian Finney/Getty Images)4. Saka and Martinelli match Rooney and Ronaldo record
Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are spectacular talents. We didn't need this game to realise that. They did, however, remind us how a pair of 21-year-olds are capable of inspiring a title charge.
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With Arsenal in desperate need of a goal, Saka drove down the right in typically fearless fashion and found Martinelli waiting at the far post. The Brazilian forward, in ferocious goalscoring form, swept the ball home and got the Gunners back in the game to raise the noise levels inside a raucous Emirates.
The goal meant that Saka and Martinelli joined Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo as the only two team-mates aged 21 and under to have both recorded 20 or more goal involvements in a single Premier League season.
Arteta's men pushed for an equaliser as the half wore on, but Southampton were resolute. Alcaraz's goal-line clearance, adding to his goal and assist, epitomised their spirit - only to be subbed off at half-time as Saints boss Ruben Selles brought an extra defender on.
Gabriel Martinelli responded for Arsenal with his eighth goal in 10 Premier League games (David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)5. Concussion protocol comes to the fore
Save for one troubling moment, it was a brilliant first-half spectacle for the neutral. That moment came in the 38th minute when Martinelli snidely nudged into Jan Bednarek as the Southampton defender rose to win a header as Arsenal continued their attacking bombardment.
Bednarek awkwardly landed on his neck and looked in serious pain while receiving treatment, yet he was adamant that he should've been allowed to continue once he was back on his feet. Nevertheless, Southampton's medical staff were rightly steadfast in that the Poland international needed to be substituted to avoid any real damage both in the short and long term.
Even Arsenal doctor Gary O'Driscoll came over to convince Bednarek, who was reluctantly replaced by fellow centre-back Duje Caleta-Car. On social media, fans and pundits alike praised the medics involved, with concussion a growing and serious issue within the beautiful game which is all too often overlooked.
Jan Bednarek was reluctant to come off after a nasty fall (Julian Finney/Getty Images)Have your say! Will Arsenal win the Premier League title? Give us your prediction in the comments section.
6. Super sub Caleta-Car
Given Selles' bemusing decision to bring off Alcaraz and go with a five-man backline, not many would've betted on Southampton to get the next goal. But, only fitting for such a barnstorming affair, the Saints crashed in a third goal with their first attacking chance of the second half.
Southampton marched up for a corner and when Armel Bella-Kotchap beat Rob Holding to the first contact, substitute Caleta-Car had a free header to slam past the helpless Ramsdale, with Arsenal sleeping at the back post. It was a goal that rocked the Emirates and the Premier League title race.
7. Saka the saviour
If Arsenal fans didn't believe that they could get something after Odegaard's strike, they certainly did when Saka scored a rebound to make it 3-3 just as eight minutes of added time were signalled. The Gunners kept on pushing but Southampton's defence held firm to come away with a draw.
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