Arsenal banish bogey memories to lay down title statement against Southampton

Beating Southampton has proven a challenge too far for Arsenal in recent meetings, so Mikel Arteta will have been delighted by his side’s resolve at the Emirates on Saturday.

In the end, plenty will be left feeling that the visitors’ shock opener, scored by Cameron Archer 10 minutes after the restart, actually served to help Arsenal on their way to all three points and a 3-1 win.

It seemed to jolt Arteta’s men into action, and the attacking fluidity of recent wins over Bolton Wanderers, Leicester City and Paris Saint-Germain was soon enough restored.

Southampton had become a bogey team of late for Arsenal, who had failed to win any of their three most recent meetings heading into the game. Awareness of Saints as oddly tricky opponents was palpable around the Emirates in the first half, which the Gunners dominated without ever breaking through. The Arsenal faithful watched on nervously.

The times when they did enter the opposition box, they did so through incisive runs of Gabriel Jesus or Raheem Sterling, starting his first league game for the Gunners and bright for the hour he was on. Better decision-making in the final third was needed.

Arsenal’s scare came earlier than last weekend’s 4-2 win when they had already been 2-0 up before Leicester forced their way back.

Arteta will have been concerned by how open his side were defensively as Southampton broke the deadlock on the transition. Sterling wanted a free-kick as he was pinched of the ball by Mateus Fernandes, but Arsenal’s slow reaction was the real crime. Thomas Partey, already playing out of position at right-back, had to slot into the space vacated by a centre-back. By then it was too late. Archer had found the corner.

Arsenal weren’t behind for long at all, and they have Kai Havertz to thank for that. The German has come on leaps and bounds in the last year or so, and his equaliser was an exceptional finish, bent into the corner via the past and past his former team-mate Aaron Ramsdale, returning to the Emirates after his sale this summer.

Havertz is a confidence player, and his stock rose after this, with two positive runs into the box and a couple of shots just off target. Havertz’s manager and team-mates have become accustomed to his now-ruthless finishing in recent weeks. He has netted in all of Arsenal’s last four games.

Arteta immediately rang the changes, sensing the need for a change of personnel. Sure enough, the Gunners’ growing squad depth was again demonstrated as Gabriel Martinelli converted from a stunning pick-out by Bukayo Saka.

It was little wonder Southampton doubled up on Saka in the north London sun, but it did not stop him as he collected his sixth and seventh assists of the season.

Saka then made sure of a victory by capitalising on a late error for 3-1, slotting home his first league goal since August.

Most pleasing for Arteta was surely his side’s response to going behind, and that they kept pace towards the summit of the Premier League table on an afternoon when Liverpool and Manchester City also won.