Deep into eight minutes of added time the ball fell to Reiss Nelson, Arsenal’s man for a fairytale moment, and the Emirates fleetingly braced itself to do it all again. Their players had levelled from nothing against a fine, dogged Southampton but a draw would be little better than a defeat for their title hopes. Now the crowd were willing them towards the North Bank goal and, as Nelson took aim near the edge of the box, they prepared for the most thrilling act of deja vu.
This time Nelson shot just wide, a deflection off James Ward-Prowse diverting the effort off target, and Arsenal would not come close any more. There was to be no repeat of the heroics that steered their rollercoaster past Bournemouth last month: given they were 3-1 down in the 88th minute here it would have been their most spectacular salvage operation yet, but they had set themselves too steep a task and will probably count a heavy cost.
