Arsenal came back from a goal down to complete a brilliant 3-1 win over Southampton at the Emirates.
A first half that lacked any cutting edge saw the Gunners only attempt one shot on target. Still, they hardly left the opposition's half until Raheem Sterling, in his first Premier League start for the club, lost the ball and the Saints' Cameron Archer arrowed in a fine finish ten minutes into the second half.
Going behind sprung Arsenal into life. Within a few minutes, Kai Havertz was through after Bukayo Saka played him the ball, and he smashed in an equaliser off the post and beyond the returning Aaron Ramsdale who was making his first appearance against his former club.
The Gunners then took the lead in the 68th through a wonderful ball played into the back post by Saka and Gabriel Martinelli was there to poke it past Ramsdale at his near post. Saka then clinched the win in the last few minutes after a mixup at the back to stroke home to put some gloss on a haphazard afternoon for Mikel Arteta's side.
After wins for both sides above them, Liverpool and Man City, the win leaves Arsenal level with City on 17 points and one behind Liverpool who lead the pack going into October's international break.
Saka continues to shine and win games for Arsenal
Saka was involved in all three Arsenal goals as he finished the afternoon with one goal and two assists on a day where he took seven shots and created seven chances.
The level of the England international's playmaking has gone up another level this season and he is leading Europe's top five leagues in assists with seven in seven league games.
After captain Martin Odegaard sustained an injury on international duty a month ago many thought Arsenal may struggle to create chances in these games against low-block opposition but Saka is showing why he is one of the most consistent players in the world with his ability to make so many big chances throughout games.
Saka is now up to nine goals and assists in the league in the first seven games and if he keeps up this form he is looking likely at contributing his most goals ever.
Jesus is so far from being an option to start league games
Arteta surprisingly rotated his team in a big way for this match with both Martinelli and Leandro Trossard dropping to the bench to make way for Gabriel Jesus and Sterling.
With winless Southampton visiting it may have been one of the few chances the manager could switch up the team and feel like they can still take three points whilst not at full strength. Also, it could have been to give Jesus a confidence boost, if he scored against Southampton he may feel sharper and ready to contribute after some subpar cameos this season.
However, the Brazillian was far from his best in this match and did not manage to impress. He missed the chance to play in Saka in behind the Southampton defence in one of few chances to catch their opponents out on the break and you could hear the crowd grumble after that one. Jesus is taking too many touches on the ball and he is miles away from being close to contributing what Havertz does up front.
The 27-year-old has to do more to impress Arteta and I do not think he will be starting any league games anytime soon.
Havertz scores again at the Emirates
Speaking of how good Havertz has been up front for Arsenal, the German made it seven goals from his last seven home matches to level Robin Van Persie's record at the Emirates.
The finish for the equaliser was clinical and hit with some venom that we definitely did not see from Havertz when he first joined the club just over a year ago. He has made the centre-forward role his own and he is scoring goals on a regular basis now.
It is now five goals and assists in seven league games for the 25-year-old and any questions surrounding the Gunners' striker position have been cast aside by the imperious form of Havertz.
Arsenal are leaking goals at home this season
When looking at the fixture list the two home matches in the past week against Leicester and Southampton would make for good reading and it would be expected that an Arsenal side who boasted the best defence in the league last season could shut both teams out.
But they have conceded three in those two games and four in four home games this season with only one clean sheet. Compared to their three away games this season where they have kept two clean sheets in three games and only conceded two at Man City their home record must be improved if they want to compete come May.
There are distinct differences in Arsenal's approach in home games to away games. At home, the Gunners are more expansive and fluid in their positioning which can lead to more chances to be caught out on the break, whereas away from the Emirates, they are quite disciplined and rigid in their positions and hard to break down.
To fix this Arteta needs to find a way to balance these two approaches as they could be caught out if they concede too many in these home matches.
