Arsenal’s team coach was delayed on arrival at Southampton before a game which, Arsène Wenger conceded, his side played largely in second gear.
Arsenal were thoroughly outplayed in the first half and José Fonte’s 21st-minute header gave Saints a well-deserved lead at the break. Two quickfire goals after half-time, with the in-form duo Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla once again on target, gave the visitors a lead to defend before Adam Lallana pulled Southampton level and Mathieu Flamini was sent off late on.
The draw means Manchester City and Chelsea can overtake the Premier League leaders if they win their fixtures on Wednesday but Wenger, whose side arrived late due to congestion around the stadium, refused to regard the draw as a missed opportunity.
“I think in the first half Southampton played very well and we didn’t play well,” he said. “Southampton deserved the lead at half-time and in the second half I felt we played well and it was a very good football game.
“We played in second gear and Southampton in fourth. They played at a higher pace than us, decided to stop us from playing and did it very well. It is difficult to maintain but they did it for 90 minutes and they did it very well in the first half. You want the three points in every game but it is a difficult place, Southampton. When you look at the overall record it can happen sometimes away from home you take only one point.”
Flamini was dismissed with 10 minutes remaining for a two-footed challenge on Morgan Schneiderlin but Wenger felt his player was unfortunate to be sent off.
“To me it looked harsh,” he said. “He got the ball. At some stage we have all the feet off the ground – when you want to run you need to put the feet off the ground.
“If you say that every time a guy makes the two-footed tackle it is a red card, he deserved a red card. If you say was it a violent tackle, I would say no, as he played the ballI don’t know, the referee made the decision, we have to cope with it.”
The France international will now miss the next four Arsenal fixtures, including Sunday’s game against Crystal Palace, and Wenger’s options in midfield will be further limited following a hitch in Aaron Ramsey’s recovery.
“Aaron Ramsey is out for longer than we expected as he had a little setback yesterday in training so I couldn’t bring him here,” Wenger said. “It is the same muscle. He felt it a bit again so we have to be cautious this time.”
Arsenal created their first chance only in the 44th minute after Southampton had dominated possession in the first half. A slew of sloppy passes and high-energy pressing from Mauricio Pochettino’s team prevented Arsenal from getting into their rhythm. The goal eventually came from a hotly disputed free-kick, Per Mertesacker adamant that he had won the ball cleanly from Adam Lallana. Lee Mason, the referee, disagreed, and when Luke Shaw got the better of Serge Gnabry on the left wing he curled in a cross which Fonte powered past Wojciech Szczesny.
Arsenal came out a different team in the second half, and were back in the game after only three minutes. The right-back Bacary Sagna powered a cross in from the right and, with a cheeky backheel, Giroud found the net. It took them four more minutes to take the lead, Mesut Özil driving forward and poking the ball through to Cazorla, who found the corner from the edge of the area.
Southampton’s heads did not drop, however, and two minutes later Lallana fired home a Jay Rodriguez cutback to make them the second side to score more than one against Arsenal in their last 22 league games.
Pochettino felt his players did enough to win the game and praised his players for not letting their heads drop following Arsenal’s two goals at the start of the second half. “I thought the team was outstanding,” he said. “We were sensational in the first half, it was total football. In the second half we didn’t start so well and conceded two quick goals. I would highlight the fact we were able to get back into it – we showed amazing character and we deserved to win in the end.”
The Guardian.
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