Only Robin van Persie (46) and Olivier Giroud (40) have scored more Premier League goals in the Emirates Stadium than Theo Walcott (38).
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta hopes that the draw against Southampton is the beginning of his team’s recovery after a series of three losses in the Premier League with only ten players at the beginning.
Theo Walcott opened the account of the Saints on his return to his former club with a beautiful shot that hit goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
But Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang settled after the break. Arsenal spent 797 minutes in the Premier League without admitting a goal.
However, the undiscipline of the machine guns cost them again, because Gabriel was sent away after two times in four minutes.
Replacement Nathan Redmond hit the bar shortly after Southampton had pushed the winning goal that would bring them briefly to the top of the table.
The visitors could not resist the pressure and almost scored a goal on the other side of the pitch when Rob Holding’s header also hit the woodwork.
The draw places Southampton in third place for Leicester City, while Arteta’s side remains in 15th place after their worst start to the season at Arsenal since the 1974/75 campaign.
We have held out for so long against a really dangerous team and have shown character, Arteta said.
We came back after giving in and showing how much we wanted it.
On the question of whether going to fight will enable a recovery, Arvetha added: I agree, yes, because if they had lost that game in the end, it would have been very hard to accept.
Arsenal 1-1 Southampton: According to Mikel Arteta, Gabriel’s red card cost his team the game.
New disciplinary arsenal
Arteta said his team couldn’t hide and had to take the ball after their worst start to the season in 46 years – what he didn’t want was another red card.
The hosts gained momentum after Aubameyang, together with Eddie Nketiah, laid a smart foundation for Bukayo Sac.
But they were reduced to ten men within ten minutes when Gabriel got his second yellow card for a foul at Walcott – Arsenal’s seventh dismissal in the Premier League since he took control of Arteta last December.
It was also Arsenal’s third red card in five games and Arteta then said he wanted to replace Gabriel after the first caution, but he did not.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang went 648 minutes without scoring a goal in the Emirates Premier League.
The Gunners haven’t won a single game since they defeated Manchester United at Old Trafford six weeks ago.
But Arteta, who last started in Arsenal in September 2012, will be encouraged by the resilience his side has shown since Gabriel’s resignation.
It was the 50th. The Spaniard has won the match for the North of London and he has more matches in the Cup (14) than in the Premier League (13).
His team still has to play against Everton and Chelsea in the league and Manchester City in the EFL Cup in the next ten days before he travels to Brighton.
Walcott goes back to the old ghost club
Walcott has scored 108 goals in 397 appearances in the 12 years he has spent in Arsenal since leaving Southampton in 2006. Only Robin van Persie and Olivier Giroud scored more than 38 goals in the top flight in the Emirate Stadium.
After Everton threatened to end his career, this season the 31-year-old has returned to his hometown club and thrives with confidence in Southampton.
Visitors from the north of London dominated Walcott’s possession from the outset and the skill of Walcott in the 18th minute ensured that Arsenal’s back line was constantly confused.
We were fantastic and did everything we wanted in this game, Walcott said. We just wanted to focus on our strengths, we know how good we are as a unit – we are so confident and honest with each other.
Walcott’s goal came out of a smart pass from Che Adams, and the Southampton striker was a problem for Arsenal.
Ralph Hasenhuttle, the team boss, said afterwards that he was happy with the point, but that he must have been a little disappointed that his team could not get all three points.
Shot himself in the footShot himself in the foot
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta addresses the Match of the Day: We didn’t have time to think, we set ourselves two or three goals to try and win the race. The boys did what they did three days ago [against Burnley], we scored a very good goal, we got ahead and shot ourselves in the foot again.
Aubameyang needed this confidence, he is very critical of himself, he hopes to move and be more optimistic in the future.
Arsenal 1-1 Southampton: Ralph Hasenhuttle says his Premier League teammates respect the Saints.
Ralph Hasenhuttl, headmaster of Southampton: We showed what we learned in the past, namely to play our game. It was a good performance, not always, but we are getting more and more confidence in the possession game.
They tried to take more risks after the break, pressed a little earlier, and that automatically puts a little pressure on you. It’s a team that’s usually above us in the rankings.
It was good to see that we can still be competitive. The teams respect what we do and how we play. I don’t mind.
Saints remain impressive –statistics.
- Arsenal has only taken 14 points from 13 Premier League games this season, their lowest total in this elite stage since 1974-75 (9 points – adjusted for 3 points per win).
- The Gunners have won only once in their last nine Premier League games (W1 D2 L6).
- Southampton only lost one of their last 11 Premier League (W7 D3 L1) matches, losing each of their last six away games.
- For the first time since February 2002, Arsenal missed more than 10 Premier League home games in a row (11 games).
- Since Mike Arteta’s first Premier League game (26 December 2019), Arsenal has received seven red cards, four more than any other team that has played in that period.
What’s the next step?
Arsenal travel to Goodison Park to take over Everton on Saturday (17.30 GMT), while Southampton hosts Manchester City earlier in the day (15.00 GMT).
The player of the game
WestergaardJannik Westergaard
Lines
Arsenal
- 1Leno
- 16Hold
- 6GabrielGabrielGabrielGabriel over 62 mines
- 3Tierney.
- 15Maitland-Niles
- 25Elneny
- 8SeballosSubstitution of Willocat 67 min.
- 7saka
- 19PépéReplaced byCédric Soareswithin 85’minute
- 30NketiaSubstitution of David Luizat 65 min.
- 14Aubamaran
Replaces
- 9Lacazette
- 12Villian
- 13Runarsson
- 17Cedric Soares
- 20 Mustafi
- 23David Louis
- 28Willock
Southampton
- 1McCarthy
- 2 Walker-Peters.
- 35BednarekReserved in 26 minutes
- 4Westergaard
- 3BertrandBay at 33Minutes
- 17ArmstrongSubstituted for Redmondate 63’minutes
- 8Search
- 6Romeu
- 32ValcottReplaced by the generic 63’minutes
- 9IngsBocking at 83min.
- 10 Adams
Replaces
- 5Stephenia
- 11Redmond
- 12Jenepo
- 22Salisu
- 27Diallo
- 40N’Lundulu
- 44Forster.
Real-time text
- Game over, Arsenal 1, Southampton 1.
- End of the second half, Arsenal 1, Southampton 1.
- James Ward-Prowse (Southampton FC) is punished after committing an offence.
- Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal) gets a free kick in the opposite half.
- Rob Holding (Arsenal) hits the bar with a cup from the middle of the box. Bukayo Saka’s free kick was met with a cross in the box.
- Moussa Genepo (Southampton FC) will be punished after committing an offence.
- Kieran Tierney (Arsenal) hits a free kick on the left wing.
- Jannik Westergaard (Southampton FC) is punished after committing an offence.
- Rob Holding (Arsenal) gets a free kick in the opposite half.
- Corner, Southampton. At the instigation of Bukayo Saka.
- Corner, Southampton. Presented by Rob Holding.
- The attempt failed. Nathan Redmond (Southampton)’s right foot shot from outside the box was close but too high. Supported by Jannik Westergaard.
- In, Arsenal. Cédric Soares replaces Nicolas Pepe.
- The attempt failed. Nicolas Pepe (Arsenal) shoots with his left foot from the center of the box and misses from a set-piece situation.
- Danny Ings (Southampton) has been booked for a yellow card for a foul.
- Danny Ings (Southampton FC) will be punished after committing an offence.
- Joseph Willock (Arsenal) hits a free kick in half of the opponent.
- Offside, Southampton. Ryan Bertrand plays a forward pass, but the referee sees Moussa Genepo offside.
- Corner, Southampton. Introduced by David Louis.
- Attempt blocked. Yannick Westergaard (Southampton) sees his right foot blocked. Sponsored by Kyle Walker-Peters.
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