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At times like these, as Mikel Arteta desperately seeks answers, the Arsenal manager should be grateful for the little mercies. At least there were no supporters present to witness this latest anguish-filled performance, which was marked by another red card. At least his team scored only for the third time in nine Premier League games. At least they didn’t lose.
Make no mistake, Arsenal had their way here. They were on the loose and pedestrianized for the first 30 minutes, when they went after a goal from Theo Walcott, who later said he could feel the fear in his old team.
The good news for Arsenal was that they found a way back, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang drawing his third league goal of the season. How I needed it. Arteta was eager to talk about the stamina and character he saw in his players.
But then came another jerk toward the self-destruct button, another act of indiscipline. Gabriel had just been booked for kicking the ball when he allowed Walcott to roll away from him in the 62nd minute at the half. He reacted by dragging him back (the lack of situational awareness was staggering) and, with one man down for the third time in five games, Arsenal were left to endure.
Southampton played more controlled football and pushed for the winner although, almost implausibly, Arsenal nearly stole it when Rob Holding’s injury-time header from Bukayo Saka’s free kick hit the wood.
That did not reflect the balance of the game and Arteta knew he had to be happy with the point, although once again there was a lot to annoy him, including the firing of Gabriel. “We shot ourselves in the foot,” Arteta said. “It is very difficult to compete in this league with 10 men.”
Security originally belonged to Southampton. Arteta had eliminated Willian and Alexandre Lacazette and changed to 3-4-3, but Ralph Hasenhütl has his system and his players know their roles. The visitors were comfortable with possession, helped by Arsenal’s lack of a cohesive press; they worked their one-touch things and could feel the hesitation in their opponents.
Southampton’s goal summed up Arsenal’s fragility. All it took to separate them was a Jannik Vestergaard pass from behind, a missed tackle and then another pass. The unfortunate Gabriel missed the tackle on Che Adams and when the Southampton forward looked up the ball was ready for Walcott. He was in feet of space and finished with a cold drink.
Arsenal’s lack of intensity during the first half hour was extraordinary. On the other hand, this is what the minimum confidence levels look like. Southampton strutted. Where were the challenges to take them down?
Arsenal marked their game with errors, like the one made by Dani Ceballos in the 37th minute when he turned inside the area and fell to the ground in the vague proximity of Jan Bednarek. It was four yards away. Why not shoot?
Arteta’s team opened a few starts towards the end of the half, and the return of Nicolas Pépé saw a shot blocked by Vestergaard and another scraping off Alex McCarthy. The Southampton goalkeeper also saved when Bednarek deflected a Saka cross into his own goal. In a parallel universe, the halftime whistle was the reason for the boos.
Saka looked like the one with the best chance of making something happen for Arsenal and he did so in the 52nd minute, dodging three challenges and finding Eddie Ntekiah, whose touch marked the start of Aubameyang.
At last Arsenal had a bit of a boost, but Gabriel soon stopped it. Southampton went in for the kill, with substitute Nathan Redmond hitting the crossbar and firing another wide-range shot. Hasenhütl argued that another substitute, Moussa Djenepo, should have been sanctioned after a body search. Arsenal have won only once in nine, but at least this was something. It was the high-flying Southampton who left with regret.
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