Having not lost a game since the 18th of August away to Chelsea, Emery’s Arsenal arrived on the south coast full of confidence.
On the opposite end of the scale, Southampton were struggling at the bottom of the table. Having recently parted ways with manager Mark Hughes, new boss Ralph Hasenhuttl lost his first game in charge away to Cardiff.
The Saints were without a win at home in the Premier League since April, even the most optimistic of Southampton supporters would’ve struggled to predict a positive result.
Arsenal’s first-half woes continue
Despite being unbeaten in 22 games in all competitions, Arsenal are yet to be winning a league game going into the halftime break. As a result, The Gunners have recovered the most points in the Premier League from losing positions- they would once again need to rely on their ability to come back against Southampton.
Inside the 20th minute, fullback Matthew Targett received the ball on the left and whipped in a cross from deep. Laurent Koscielny, who was starting his first league match since returning from an a injury, was caught underneath the ball and allowed Danny Ings to plant a header beyond Bernd Leno from close range.
Arsenal’s makeshift defence was well and truly exploited, and crosses into the box proved to be a problem for the north Londoners throughout the game.
However, eight minutes after conceding the visitors equalised. After tidy work down the left from Alex Iwobi and Nacho Monreal, Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s glancing header trickled beyond Alex McCarthy. A quick response from Arsenal who were finally starting to feel their way into the game following a tepid start.
Moments later Arsenal almost found themselves a goal up, Lucas Torreira found himself in the box and attempted to square it to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for a tap-in, but a superb last-ditch challenge from Jan Bednarek denied the Gabonese international the opportunity.
Arsenal’s defensive crisis then worsened on the stroke of half-time, right back Hector Bellerin picked up a knock and was replaced by Alexandre Lacazette. But the misfortune wouldn’t end there, minutes before the break Ings put Southampton back in front. A clever chipped ball in the box by Nathan Redmond was met by Ings, who once again evaded Koscielny to score a looping header.
Emery’s men with work to do at half-time.
Gunners offer resistance, but ultimately topple
In somewhat familiar fashion, Arsenal started the second half rejuvenated and proceeded to put pressure on Southampton.
Seven minutes later, that pressure told. After some lackadaisical play by Oriel Romeu near the Southampton area, Lacazette wrestled the ball away from him and played it to Mkhitaryan, the 29-year-old’s left-footed strike took a wicked deflection and found the back of the net. Arsenal had once again levelled the game and looked to be in the ascendency.
Emery made the switch to a 4-4-2 at half-time, having started the game with a 3-4-3. Lacazette played up front with Aubameyang, and the duo were causing the Southampton defence problems. Aubameyang began running the channels and setup Iwobi with a clever backheel, but the 22-year-old could only blaze over from inside the box.
Despite their growing dominance, Arsenal continued to look susceptible to counter attacks and on set pieces. Shane Long, who had been substituted on for Redmond, thought he’d re-established the lead for his side after prodding home from a corner- but the offside flag cut his celebrations short.
The warning signs were there for The Gunners, for much of the second half they looked most likely to score- but a makeshift backline proved to be a sticking point. And in the 85th minute, the inability to deal with crosses in the box would prove costly.
Long received the ball in space and drove toward the Arsenal box, his crossed picked out substitute Charlie Austin who nodded home. Southampton, who hadn’t scored a headed goal all season, now had three in one game and Austin made it five goals in his last five appearances against Arsenal.
This would be the final act of significance in the game, and Arsenal’s long unbeaten run had come to an abrupt end. The Gunners will now need to refocus and prepare for a hectic Christmas schedule- starting with the North London derby on Wednesday evening.