Arsenal 3-3 Southampton: How it happened

Arsenal’s title charge took a hit on Friday as they were held to a 3-3 draw by Southampton at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners were hoping to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table, but they were unable to overcome a resilient Saints side.

The match got off to a disastrous start for Arsenal as Carlos Alcaraz opened the scoring for Southampton just one minute into the game. The Gunners were caught out by a misplaced pass from Aaron Ramsdale, and Alcaraz pounced to give his side an early lead.

Things went from bad to worse for Arsenal just 14 minutes later when former Gunner Theo Walcott doubled Southampton’s lead with a low strike. The Emirates Stadium was left stunned as Walcott had scored a crucial goal against them.

Arsenal managed to pull one back in the 20th minute through Gabriel Martinelli, who fired in after Bukayo Saka did well to find him. However, Southampton restored their two-goal advantage in the 67th minute when Duje Caleta-Car headed in at the back post.

The Gunners refused to give up, though, and they managed to claw their way back into the game with two late goals. Martin Odegaard scored a lovely strike in the 88th minute to bring Arsenal within one goal of Southampton, and Bukayo Saka completed the comeback with an incredible finish through a crowd of bodies in stoppage time.

Despite salvaging a point from the game, Arsenal will be disappointed with their performance against Southampton. The draw leaves them with 75 points after 32 games, but second-placed Manchester City are hot on their heels with 70 points and two games in hand.

Arsenal will need to regroup quickly if they want to maintain their position at the top of the table. They have some tough fixtures coming up, including matches against Chelsea and Manchester City, so they will need to be at their best if they want to stay in the title race.