We haven’t heard from Mikel Arteta or Ralph Häsenhuttl yet but Nick Ames’s match report from St Mary’s has arrived. I’ll leave you with that and the live blog for Tottenham v Newcastle (Spurs can move within two points of their north London rivals if they win). Thanks for your emails. Bye!
Here’s Stuart Armstrong, who scored the goal that earned a point for Southampton:
It was a hard game against a good opposition. It was not the perfect start and we had to defend and try to counter-attack. We changed the shape quite quickly and sat a bit deeper to limit their chances. We knew on the counter we could be dangerous. It was a lovely little slip pass [from Elyounoussi] and thankfully I put it away for my first goal of the season.
Alan Pyke is not happy with some of the officiating at St Mary’s: “Normally I detest the level of officiating moaning that greets any Arsenal points dropped, but here it feels like it would be deserved,” he writes. “Lyanco threw some light-contact violent-intent manual afters inside the first 10 minutes, plus a throat grab late, and I think there was contact on the headbutt you described as a whiff, all adding up to one yellow. Multiple uncalled (and unreviewed) shirt grab shouts in and around the box from Soton. General chopping at more skilled Arsenal attacking players, only some of it called and none of it generating a yellow for persistent fouling (that one’s still in the rules is it not?). I’m all for the league wide directive to let ‘em play a bit more this season. This felt like a ref who doubled up on that particular vitamin pill before work today.” I thought Caleta-Car’s hands-on defending was more noticeable than Lyanco’s.
Premier League full-time scores
Aston Villa 4-0 Brentford
Leeds 2-3 Fulham
Southampton 1-1 Arsenal
Wolves 0-4 Leicester
Jesse Marsch might need to give himself a motivational talk after that defeat at Elleand Road. And what about Leicester and Villa eh?
Full-time: Southampton 1-1 Arsenal
That’s a great point for Southampton and three matches unbeaten. Manchester City will be delighted too. Arsenal probably didn’t make enough of their dominance in that first half and they looked a little tired as the second 45 wore on. Saints’ equaliser was a really well worked goal, though, and though it is two dropped points for the Gunners they still stay top by two points. It’s a tough grind before the World Cup.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 11 | 14 | 28 |
| 2 | Man City | 11 | 25 | 26 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 11 | 10 | 23 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 11 | 5 | 21 |
| 5 | Man Utd | 11 | 0 | 20 |
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90+4 min: This has been a characterful second half from Southampton – and one that has shown the Saints fans that Hasenhüttl can still make his team tick. Partey hurls in a long throw … it’s cleared and there goes the final whistle.
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90+ 3 min: Edozie clips a corss to the back post, where Elyounoussi’s header across goal is cleared smartly by Gabriel. Then Lyanco is booked for waving his head close to Nketiah’s in the Darwin Nunez-style. No contact was made but that wasn’t clever. I wouldn’t mess with Lyanco you know. He looks mean.
90+1 min: Tomiyasu floats a ball to the back post where Arsenal have an overload, but Partey’s header back across goal is cleared.
90 min: There will be five more minutes here – and Arsenal have just win a free-kick 40 yards out.
88 min: Walcott is booked for a dreadful dive near the halfway line when the nearest man to him Gabriel was stood in a different postcode. He’s young. He’ll learn.
87 min: This is one-way traffic now, with Saints very much on top. Edozie looks a player. He’s wriggled away from Arsenal challenges on a few occasions and found the indefatigable Elyounoussi on the right. He’s my player of the match, in case you’re bothered.
86 min: Dark clouds are gathering over Jesse Marsch at Elland Road. Having taken the lead, Leeds now trail 3-1 to Fulham. “It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that a Fulham win at Elland Road costs Jesse Marsch his job, three days after Steven Gerrard was let go by Aston Villa following their 3-0 loss to the Cottagers,” writes Eric Perterson. “I wonder if such circumstances have ever occurred before in the Premier League, where a team’s consecutive wins have also prompted two managerial sackings on the bounce.” One for the Knowledge!
85 min: … but it is really well defended by Saliba, who heads away strongly. Southampton are pushing on here. They want three points.
84 min: Southampton win a corner. Che Adams’ eyes light up as Ward-Prose stands over it …
82 min: Odegaard is off and Fabio Vieira is on. Vieira likes a shot doesn’t he? Meanwhile, I should add that I got it wrong earlier. Tierney replaced Ben White not Tomiyasu. Must do better.
81 min: Odegaard slips a clever pass through to Nketiah, whose shot across goal is deflected wide for a corner. The corner is knocked in deep and Southampton clear at the far post.
80 min: Saints goalscorer Stuart Amrstrong has run his last. He’s replaced by the 19-year-old Samuel Edozie, a summer signing from Manchester City. A big 10 minutes for the youngster.
78 min: Odegaard slams home after an energetic run up the left … but it’s chalked off because Tierney hooked the ball across from just behind the byline.
76 min: Elyounoussi and Tierney clash at the far post and the Arsenal man is left clutching his throat. It’s hard to say what happened but nothing is given and Walcott breaks to the halway line before being closed down and forced backwards. And then someone on the Arsenal bench is shown a yellow card, presumably for some unwelcome effing and jeffing at officials.
75 min: The Southampton crowd are right behind their team now having been so quiet up until the goal. The home side are really feeding off the energy too, closing down fiercely and sensing a fine result is within their grasp.
72 min: Substitution corner! Tierney and Nketiah are on for White and Martinelli, whose hamstrings must be a little tight after all those bursts forward. And Che Adams is on for Aribo, with Adam Armstrong replaced by Theo Walcott, who may finally fulfil his potential if he does something for his first club against his former club here. Adams will be a muscular threat up front for Saints now.
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71 min: Arsenal had just started sliding into their comfort zone when Southampton struck. If they can lift their intensity they could very easily win this game and restore that four-point lead.
69 min: The corner results in a scramble and a snap-shot from Aribo that goes straight into the grateful midriff of Ramsdale.
68 min: Another goal at Villa Park, where Olly Watkins has put the home side 4-0 up against Brentford. And Get Him On The Plane’s James Maddison has put Leicester 3-0 up at Wolves. Back at St Mary’s, Southampton win a corner.
67 min: That counter-attack only happened because of a brilliant dummy from Aribo on the halfway line that sent Stuart Armstrong scampering clear before he found Elyounoussi on the right. A good dummy should be worth an assist I reckon.
Goal! Southampton 1-1 Arsenal (Stuart Armstrong 65)
Blame Ian Copestake Arsenal fans! It’s a lovely counter-attack in which Elyounoussi jinks inside Tomiyasu before dinking a delicious little pass back inside Gabriel for Stuart Armstrong to run on to and fire across Ramsdale and into the corner without breaking stride. Game on!
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64 min: Caleta-Car has got away with some pretty hands-on grappling with Jesus today. Every time the ball is aimed towards the Brazilian, the Southampton defender has two arms around him.
62 min: Ian Copestake is here, dressed as Captain Buzzkill: “All this positivity around Arsenal is quite sickening,” he gasps. “It even renders gloom merchants like the Dony chipper about teams other than his own! The sooner this ends the better.”
61 min: Arsenal appear to be finally wrestling back control of the match, with their midfield pop, pop, popping passes around and keeping possession patiently. They’ve clearly had enough of Southampton’s adventurous bursts forward.
59 min: This is better as a spectacle. Elyounoussi almost scores at one end as a cross falls just out of his reach before racing back to the other end to stop Jesus scoring with a brilliant turn of pace and slide to block the Brazilian’s attempted finish inside the box. Good lungs!
55 min: Nope. But the outswinger from Ward-Prowse does cause mild alarm. From the clearance Stuart Armstrong swings the ball back in from the left and Gabriel and Salisu clash heads as they challenge for the ball. Both seem to be all right after a bit of treatment.
54 min: The energetic Adam Armstrong wins a corner after an industrious foray up the right wing. Can they make anything of it?
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51 min: Southampton try to pass their way out from the back and do a decent job of it under intense pressure from Arsenal, with Lyanco winning a throw-in on the right deep inside the Arsenal half. His long throw is cleared after an awkward bounce and then Elyounoussi catches Partey with a late tackle in midfield.
49 min: Saliba plays a horrible square pass towards Gabriel in his own half that Stuart Armstrong pounces on. The forward still has Gabriel to beat, though, and dribbles up towards the edge of the box and then, lacking confidence and support, mis-controls and wastes a fine opportunity. It was like Gabriel tackled him with mind-power alone.
47 min: Martinelli drags the ball back and sends Ward-Prowse air-kicking his way past him near the halfway home. He burst forwards and releases Xhaka on the left, whose cross is blocked to cries of “handball” from the home fans. Replays are inconclusive.
46 min: Perraud has a dig from distance. It’s not pretty. Should go down as a shot though, so it gives the stats bod something to do at least.
The second half!
45 min: No changes. Away we go again.
A lot of Floyd fans out there today it seems.
@GreggBakowski how many Pink Floyd links is it possible to place in the Arsenal v Southampton game Gregg?
— Aiden Mac (@AidenMacfarlane) October 23, 2022
Arsenal have been comfortable, Southampton have been comfortably numb.
Matt Dony writes: “I’m convinced Martinelli would be a fantastic Klopp player. But, as much as no one expects Arsenal to keep it up across a season, it does seem like the beginning of something exciting. He’s in a good place, and he could easily become an Arsenal legend. Disappointingly. If only he played for Southampton …” He’s got that blend of skill and incredible energy that makes him an absolute nightmare to play against. If he doesn’t trick his way past you he’ll just run through you and hope the ball follows him.
Premier League half-time scores
Aston Villa 3-0 Brentford
Leeds 1-1 Fulham
Southampton 0-1 Arsenal
Wolves 0-2 Leicester
Oof! Steven Gerrard’s managerial ability is being savaged by events at Villa Park.
Updated
Half-time: Southampton 0-1 Arsenal
That was a comfortable half for Arsenal, who will restore their four-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the table as it stands. The only concern is that they should have turned their dominance into more than a 1-0 lead. Mind you, it’s hard to see how Southampton are going to cause Arsenal problems at the back without Che Adams.
Half-time reading:
Updated
45 min: Stuart Armstrong scoops a shot at goal but it is well blocked by Gabriel. It followed some lovely play from Aribo, whose dazzling footwork set up Perraud for a pull-back to Armstrong. And that’s half-time.
42 min: Saka and Xhakas combine on the edge of the box, with the Swissn laying the ball off for Jesus, who fires at goal only to see Caleta-Car’s broad chest get in the way. And then he should probably score after being sent through in the penalty area by an outrageous scoop from Odegaard, but the striker fires straight at Bazunu, who has had a fine game in goal for Southampton. To be fair Jesus saw the space between himself and the goal eaten up by the Saints No 1, who was quick off his line.
41 min: “It seems like the Swiss Arsenal players are enjoying a more than decent Sunday – first our women’s team captain Wälti scores, and then Xhaka follows suit. Good times!” cheers Laura Rutishauser. A warning, that Xhaka’s afternoon is not over yet. Always hard to predict how his day’s work will end.
38 min: Martinelli puts on the afterburners and sets the controls for the edge of the box, cutting in from the left and shifting the ball on to his right foot, only to see a low shot deflected wide for a corner. The corner comes to nothing … but Arsenal come back with Martinelli winning a corner on the other side after a similarly effervescent burst up the left.
Updated
36 min: Ward-Prowse whips this deep to the back post, but Tomiysau heads clear. Southampton are having a dominant spell but without ever seeming threatening.
35 min: Southampton win another corner. Ward-Prowse drives it low to the near post towards Diallo, but Jesus clears behind for another corner. This one is cleared by Ramsdale but then Stuart Armstrong wins, – yes, you guessed it – yet another corner …
Updated
34 min: …and from this corner, Xhaka heads away with authority. Southampton are starting to get just a little more belief now. Arsenal have dropped a little too deep in my opinion.
33 min: Ward-Prowse whips it in and Arsenal clear behind. Another corner …
32 min: It’s all become a bit stop-start now. White heads behind after a hopeful Ward-Prowse cross. Corner to Southampton …
28 min: … with Saka racing clear of Salisu, who catches up with him and kind of shoves him against Caleta-Car. It could be a free-kick but instead the referee Robert Jones books Saka for simulation. It’s an odd one but on another viewing it looks like Saka perhaps tries to leave his right foot out so that it clips Caleta-Car as he falls. I still think a booking is harsh though as he was shoved.
Updated
27 min: Elyounoussi pirouettes away from Tomiyasu and pops a pass into Stuart Armstrong, but he’s hounded by Arsenal shirts and the Gunners break …
25 min: And just as I start to praise Ward-Prowse, he gives the ball away in midfield, leading to an Odegaard ping forwards to Jesus, who twists and turns in the penalty area before scorching the side-netting with a left-footed strike.
23 min: Southampton are enjoying a decent spell of possession, with Ward-Prowse starting to pull the strings in midfield. From small acorns and all that …
22 min: Score updates! Harvey Barnes has given Leicester a 2-0 lead at Wolves and Rodrigo has put Leeds 1-0 up against Fulham. How Jesse Marsch needs a win.
21 min: A corner for Southampton! Ward-Prowse whips it in right on top of Ramsdale, who does well to punch away under his own crossbar. A Ward-Prowse set piece might be Southampton’s biggest threat today.
19 min: Diallo shows great composure to swivel away from a swarm of Arsenal midfielders and release the onrushing Ward-Prowse but a promising counter-attack slows down when Aribo cuts back inside and goes backwards.
18 min: Meanwhile at Villa Park, Danny Ings has scored again to given his side a 3-0 lead over Brentford after just 18 minutes. How Southampton must miss Ings. Give it Danksy?
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17 min: Southampton can’t get out of their half. Arsenal look like they have a couple more gears to move through, too.
16 min: “Every time I start thinking that Arsenal might win the title, I start feeling like the old man in the Bruce Springsteen song Reason to Believe, poking a dead dog with a stick hoping it’ll spring to life,” writes Kári Tulinius. “But still, as the chorus kinda says, with every Xhaka goal Arsenal fans find some reason to believe.”
15 min: Arsenal have sat back a little since scoring and seem content to let Southampton have the ball, mainly because the Saints don’t seem to know what to do with it in possession.
13 min: And so are Aston Villa, who are the latest club to enjoy a No Manager Bounce. Danny Ings has given them a 2-0 lead over Brentford. Caretaker manager Aaron Danks has very much located Steven Gerrard’s handbrake and taken it off.
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Goal! Southampton 0-1 Arsenal (Xhaka 11)
What a finish! White is sent scuttling down the right wing by Saka before picking out Xhaka with a delightful clipped cross towards the penalty spot, where the midfielder thunders home on the half-volley with his right foot. Lovely stuff. Arsenal are purring.
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9 min: Martinelli waltzes up the left, cuts the ball inside to Xhaka who, in turn, lays it on a plate for Odegaard on the edge of the box. The Arsenal captain should at least test Bazunu but drags a tame shot wide with his left foot. The Gunners are all over this game like an attractive rash.
7 min: Xhaka lashes a shot straight at Bazunu, who makes a Pat Jennings-style save with his legs (ask your parents, kids). It followed some lovely one-touch passing between Martinelli and Jesus, who have struck up a fine understanding in little time at Arsenal.
6 min: Lyanco has a pop from distance but it’s a comfortable save for Ramsdale. Meanwhile, Aston Villa are 1-0 up against Brentford already. Leon Bailey the scorer.
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4 min: Xhaka floats it over to the right, where Saka takes a feather-toed touch, drops his shoulder and whips a “come and head me inswinger” into the six-yard box that Jesus can’t quite reach. That was a delicious cross.
3 min: Caletar-Car shunts Jesus from behind in the muscular fashion to give Arsenal a free-kick midway inside the Saints half. Xhaka to take it …
2 min: Jesus brings a save out of Bazunu immediately after some fine work down the left … but the striker is rightly flagged for offside. A sharp start from the Gunners though.
Kick-off!
1 min: Peep! Arsenal get the match under way. They’re kicking from left to right on my TV. Southampton going the other way. So build a picture of that in your minds if you will.
The teams are out at St Mary’s on what has ended up being a lovely day for football after the torrential showers earlier. Southampton wear their white shirts with a single red stripe down the middle (that’s not a Southampton kit for me – where are the stripes?) while Arsenal wear all black. Here we go!
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There are three other 2pm kick-offs in the Premier League this afternoon: Aston Villa v Brentford, Leeds v Fulham and Wolves v Leicester. There are some struggling clubs in action there with Villa and Wolves having already sacked their managers and the pressure very much on Leeds’ Jesse Marsch and Leicester’s Brendan Rodgers. You can follow the goals with our live scores page, here.
An anonymous Arsenal fan writes: “It’s a cautious optimism. Very cautious. We all remember how things fell apart so painfully last year when we were only chasing fourth place. Terrible defeats at Newcastle and Spurs and the old failings were exposed. Now, we have a great first XI but a single injury in a key place – Jesus, Saka, Xhaka, Martinelli, Saliba, etc – could cause major issues; whereas the City squad has at least two high quality players in almost every position. It’s a long, long season and who knows how the World Cup break will affect momentum, injuries, approach, mentalities …”
Football is for everyone
Before kick-off, a reminder that all weekend Premier League captains are wearing rainbow armbands as part of the Premier League’s commitment to supporting LGBTQ+ inclusion.
Ralph Hasenhüttl speaks:
We know what we are facing today. Top of the table … we need to have a good performance. Che Adams has a hamstring problem and is not fully fit, we are not taking a risk as we do not want to lose him. It will not be about the shape today it will be about what we deliver on the pitch. We need to show a lot of passion at home, lots of sprinting lots of running and finding a way of defending, commitment, solutions. There is not much difference to last time [when Southampton won 1-0 in April] but we did everything right [on that day].
Most Arsenal fans I have spoken to have been reluctant to say they are in a title race yet. Even now when they have dropped only three points from 30. Surely the race is very much on now, no? I understand that Erling Haaland is ridiculous but surely the consistency Arteta spoke of is making some of you believe … just a little bit?
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“Afternoon Gregg,” writes Dean Kinsella. “I know the Saints are in need of goals and Adams is a big loss but arguably, Walker-Peters is the biggest loss today. He has been in splendid form of late.”
He really is, Dean. His battle against Gabriel Martinelli would have been a cracking one today. He was starting to put himself in the England picture too, given the issues Gareth Southgate has at right-back.
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A very relaxed-looking Mikel Arteta has just been out on the pitch at St Mary’s for a quick word with Sky. Here’s what he had to say:
Why are Arsenal doing so well? “It’s about the consistency, individually and collectively and doing all the basics right and always doing your best. We must always have the willingness to improve.”
What’s the difference between the Arsenal team that lost at Southampton in April and this one? “The environment and the energy around the team is positive. Last year they made it difficult and we will have to deal with it again. The schedule we have [means we] have to prepare our players mentally and physically for the fixtures. Every team has a strength and weakness and we will try to exploit them,” he adds when asked about Walker-Peters’ absence.
Team news
Southampton: Bazunu, Caleta-Car, Lyanco, Salisu, Perraud,
Diallo, Ward-Prowse, Elyounoussi, Aribo, Stuart Armstrong,
Adam Armstrong. Subs: McCarthy, Adams, Mara, Djenepo, Edozie,
Larios, Walcott, Payne, Finnigan.
Arsenal: Ramsdale, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu, Partey,
Xhaka, Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus. Subs: Tierney,
Nketiah, Holding, Cedric, Vieira, Sambi Lokonga, Nelson,
Alencar, Turner.
Referee: Robert Jones (Merseyside)
The bad news for Southampton is that Che Adams is only fit enough to make the bench after struggling with a tight hamstring. Meanwhile, Arsenal are unchanged from Leeds and look supremely strong.
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Preamble
Afternoon! It’s a mark of how good Arsenal have been this season that they can afford to slip up at Southampton today and still stay top of the table. Mikel Arteta has built an energetic and flexible team, capable of winning matches in various ways. Following the pulsating win over Liverpool at the Emirates –which very much felt like New Arsenal – they stuck at their job and won by that most Old Arsenal of scorelines at Leeds to pull four points clear. “We found a way to win,” said Arteta. They certainly did and that ability is helping them put up big numbers – they’re enjoying their best start to a season in 118 years – and, who knows, maybe if they can keep their noses in front until the World Cup, the extended break might just help them. Going toe to toe with Manchester City is a mentally exhausting business and the Premier League hiatus for Qatar could be a welcome reset. Here’s how the top of the table looks before kick-off. Nice eh, Gunners?
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 10 | 14 | 27 |
| 2 | Man City | 11 | 25 | 26 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 11 | 10 | 23 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 11 | 5 | 21 |
| 5 | Man Utd | 11 | 0 | 20 |
As for Southampton, Ralph Hasenhüttl stopped the rot – and quite possibly saved his job – by following four defeats in a row with a draw against West Ham and a 1-0 win at Bournemouth. Arsenal are a cut above both those sides, though, and the hosts could be in for a long afternoon. Only Che Adams offers any threat in attack and without his five goals so far this season Saints could be in the relegation zone. Hasenhüttl is without the marauding right-back Kyle Walker-Peters, who has pulled a hamstring, and also the on-loan Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who is unable to play against his parent club. James Ward-Prowse hasn’t scored one of his free-kicks in a while, either. How Saints could do with him chipping in today.
