Arsenal reverted to their struggles of last season when they faced Southampton on Sunday, struggling to find the back of the net on several occasions. That was despite a quick start to the game that could have put them on the path to a thrashing, with Granit Xhaka volleying home an opener just 11 minutes in.
The first half came with more dominance from the visitors, but without that clinical edge to put the hosts away and secure all three points. It meant the Saints always had a way back into the game, which they managed to do in the second half as Stuart Armstrong found space beyond the backline to draw level without a response from the Gunners.
"I think we stopped doing all the simple things right," Mikel Arteta said in review of the game. "The distances on the ball positions were too far, we gave too many simple balls away in very dangerous areas without much pressure, and that didn’t allow us much continuity like we had in the first half.
