The London team scored two late goals, in the match that opened the 31st stage of the tournament, and Arsenal raised its score to 75 points, ahead of its direct competitor Manchester City by 5 points, but the latter played two matches less and hosted next Wednesday in a summit match.
Arsenal entered the match hoping to take advantage of Manchester City’s absence from this round because it was preoccupied with playing its match against Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday, especially since Southampton is in last place and is threatened by the specter of relegation.
But Southampton advanced 3-1 until the 88th minute, before Arsenal responded with two goals that gave them one point.
And Arsenal wasted 4 points also in its last two matches in the league, as it advanced against Liverpool 2-0 in the last home before it settled for a 2-2 draw, then the same scenario was repeated as it advanced with two clean early goals against its neighbor West Ham United before the latter snatched a point. tie.
And it was not until 28 seconds passed that Arsenal’s goal conceded the first goal, when the artillery goalkeeper, Aaron Ramsdell, made a mistake in passing the ball, and it reached Argentine Carlos Alcaras, who followed it into the net, amid the shock of the home fans.
Arsenal had not yet recovered from the first shock until its former striker Theo Walcott added the second, following a through ball from Alcaras (14), and the goal is only Walcott’s second since May 2021.
Arsenal responded with the aim of reducing the difference through Brazilian striker Gabriel Martinelli, who received a perfect cross from Bakayo Saka to follow it on the fly into the net (20).
The match was one-sided in the second half, as Arsenal threw all its weight and pressed hard on its opponent’s goal without posing a real threat to Southampton’s goal.
And from a corner kick for the guests, the South Coast team succeeded in strengthening its progress from a corner kick, in which the ball reached the second post in front of Croatian defender Doi Kalita Char, who headed it into the net (66).
And Arsenal’s Spanish coach, Mikel Arteta, threw the last two attacking cards, with the participation of the Belgian Leandro Trossard and Adi Nketiah, in an attempt to return to the match.
Arsenal succeeded in reducing the difference when Martin Odegaard with his left curled a ball from the outskirts of the area, out of reach of the Southampton goalkeeper (88), before Saka gave him a draw in the last minute of the match.
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