Southampton fight back to draw 1-1 with Arsenal at St Mary’s; Stuart Armstrong’s second-half goal cancelled out Granit Xhaka’s 11th-minute opener; Arsenal missed chance to restore four-point lead at top of Premier League.
After Manchester City’s 3-1 win over Brighton on Saturday, Arsenal knew only a win at St Mary’s would be enough to regain a healthy advantage at the top of the table, but Granit Xhaka’s early opener was cancelled out by Stuart Armstrong’s second-half finish.
The Gunners extended their unbeaten run to nine games in all competitions with a draw on the south coast and despite saying he had no complaints during his post-match press conference, Arteta could not hide his frustration when speaking to Arsenal’s official website.
“I have a feeling that we lost two points, especially with the way we started the game and the chances we had,”
“When you look back at the chances, we should have come out on top.
“But we have to blame ourselves. I think the way we played in the first half and in the second half was very different, especially what we did in ball possession.
“We should have more courage, more consistency and be more reliable in ball possession and dominate the game better when we have total control of it.
“Today we should have won the game and sustained our level, which we haven’t done in the second half – and that we have to raise the level again.
“There are positives – if you can’t win, don’t lose it. Coming to any ground in the Premier League with the amount of games we are playing is very difficult – but we have to demand from ourselves to be better.”
Arteta said.
Premier League table – top half
Source: Sky Sports
