Arsenal 3-3 Southampton: Gunners escape defeat in Emirates thriller

Arsenal suffered another blow to their Premier League title hopes.

Southampton held Arsenal to a 3-3 draw in their Premier League game on Friday. The Gunners pushed hard to complete their fantastic comeback but had to settle for their third draw in a row.

Title-race drama

Arsenal came into the game on the back of back-to-back 2-2 draws with Liverpool and West Ham.

The Gunners looked forward to a more comfortable match against their 20th-placed opponents. But they were proven wrong within the first 14 minutes of the game.

An early blunder from Aaron Ramsdale helped the visitors take the lead only 28 seconds into the match.

Carlos Alvarez, who scored Southampton’s first goal, then provided a brilliant through ball for Theo Walcott to make it 2-0 only 14 minutes later. However, it didn’t take long before Arsenal got back into the game.

Bukayo Saka’s brilliant cutback found Gabriel Martinelli, who smashed it into the back of the net from inside the box. The goal motivated Arsenal to double down on their attacks, but the Saints maintained their defensive integrity.

Arsenal’s relentless attacks continued at the beginning of the second period. But then came another shocking goal from the visitors.

This time, Duje Caleta-Car headed a corner into the back of the net from the far post to make it 3-1 for Southampton. Gavin Bazunu then made a series of incredible saves to delay Arsenal’s next goal until the 88th minute.

Martin Odegaard’s perfect low shot from behind the box revived Arsenal’s hopes of turning the game around. Only two minutes later, Saka made it 3-3 for the Gunners.

Mikel Arteta’s men pushed hard to snatch the match-winner and complete their comeback during the game’s eight-minute extra time. However, they had to settle for a 3-3 draw that gives Manchester City everything they need to leapfrog them from the top of the league table.