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Perhaps, it was logical that a player so intimately familiar with Arsenal’s shortcomings should be the one to expose them in cold blood. Theo Walcott’s first goal was reminiscent of his toughest days at the Emirates, a flurry of streaks through the defense followed by a deft chip on the keeper who rushed over. And as soon as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang finally ended his miserable goal drought, Walcott again leaned on old vestiges, luring Gabriel to a second yellow card that replaced any Arsenal hopefuls with spirited survival instincts.
Mikel Arteta’s men held the 1-1 draw, which was brave under the circumstances and which ended at least a torrid losing streak, four in a row at the Emirates, but which will give little consolation to a team caught in the most alarming. of cycles. Arsenal have now taken just two points from the last 18 and are dangerously reeling towards the break point; the bottom three are still at claw distance. For Southampton, which was tremendous again, this was a case of points lost rather than won as they continue their unlikely assault on a European venue.
It took just over 10 minutes for Arsenal to descend into familiar patterns and for Mikel Arteta to tap into their varying degrees of frustration: agitation when Eddie Nketiah failed to sink deep, despair when Nicolas Pepe hit brick walls, flat glow like attempts to play. out of the back he wandered naively towards the Southampton ambushes. Arteta rang the changes in an attempt to lift his team out of the slump, but the lack of imagination was still terrifying, the same mistakes occurred in the loops, and for a meticulously drilled Southampton team it delivered no surprises.
Walcott, wallowing at his lowest ebb, recalled the memories of his former home and clinically exploited himself. The 31-year-old has always been a good-hearted killer, but there was no mercy for his starter, bursting into the space between Kieran Tierney and Bukayo Saka and casually hitting the ball over Bernd Leno in vintage fashion. It was Walcott’s signature, the guy who so often made the Emirates creak and roar, and even without supporters, Arsenal seemed overwhelmed by absent groans.
Walcott ends up to put the Saints ahead
(Getty)
In the stands, Arsenal manager Edu, who felt the need to offer his public support to Arteta earlier this week, shook his head ruefully. Southampton made up, broke down in numbers and struggled relentlessly when in trouble. However, the truth is that those moments were few and far between. A delicate pirouette by Dani Ceballos, the man in charge of bringing a stifled attack to life, was met with a scorn by Jan Bednarek that prompted penalty calls. A few minutes earlier, Pepe could have scored after a rare break from strikers by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but fired his shot low and in a sea of legs.
It is hope and struggle that the Arteta Arsenal personifies, the tantalizing promise of ideas that have yet to become reality. The manager came in as a pristine matinee idol and early success was full of hope and possibility. That facade has melted away, and since players were ignoring a maniacal flurry of instructions, he got a little closer to an undertaker conducting his own funeral.
After a brief chat with the team at halftime, it was Aubameyang, who finally ended a severe 10-game goal drought, who managed to briefly lift Arsenal from that grave. Playing with renewed vigor, Saka lowered the ball with his chest and jumped brilliantly between three defenders before finding Nketiah in the box, whose handsome rest was perfectly perched at the captain’s feet. When the Southampton defense appeared to freeze in resignation, Aubameyang paused for a second before launching a shot into the bottom corner. The cathartic celebrations told a story of their own, partially ecstatic but more relieved. For Arteta, too, there was a wild uppercut to the bench.
Walcott challenges Aubameyang
(POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal weren’t entirely free spirits, but they certainly weren’t in chains. Saka cut in, waltzed into space at the edge of the box, from where a low shot from her weaker right foot was deflected around the corner by Alex McCarthy. But with each adventure outside his straitjacket, the seeds of implosion were planted. Gabriel, one of the few players to emerge from Arsenal’s recent collapse with praise, shamelessly dragged Walcott away and the second yellow card was brandished by referee Paul Tierney. It is already Arsenal’s third expulsion this season. It will be painted as bad discipline. Perhaps it is more deeply rooted in despair.
From there, the sense of inevitability felt overwhelming and the Southampton attack began. Nathan Redmond held onto a float ball over the top and his half volley bounced off the top of the crossbar. As the match sank into its frenzied final stages, Redmond’s vicious long-range shot was again negated by wood. Two other punishments fell on deaf ears before Arsenal nearly conjured a miracle of disaster, when Rob Holding’s header struck the bar. It would have been bitterly cruel in Southampton and while Arteta was horrified, in this current slippage, he is no stranger to seeing things fall the wrong way.
It was Southampton, then mired in a relegation battle, who made the last domestic puncture on Unai Emery’s lead ball a year ago. The echoes of support heard this week in the club hierarchy will give Arteta more sympathy, but Arsenal are stretching the definition of their lowest ebb. There is only one time the dive can be allowed to continue before the illusion is permanently broken.
