It is natural to feel low after failing to win a ninth game in a row, however with how things had been going, there’s a potential hit of reality to this Arsenal draw with Southampton. The Gunners were pegged back after a Granit Xhaka goal gave them the lead.
Stuart Armstrong finished off a well-worked Saints move that left the Arsenal defenders looking at one another. Mikel Arteta was frustrated with the number of wayward passes the Gunners produced
A strong first half and a weak second naturally saw variation in performances. football.london takes a look at the winners and losers from the draw with a clear lean toward the latter.
READ MORE: Why Mikel Arteta shouted at Gabriel Martinelli as Arsenal draw with Southampton - Moments missed
Winners
Granit Xhaka
Another goal for the Swiss midfielder and strong leadership performance. It is a shame that the result didn’t fall the way of Granit Xhaka’s team because it would have enabled a greater focus on just how important he is proving to be to the Gunners.
Two goals in the space of four days, both with his weak foot, both on the end of crosses from the right-back. This is a coached routine that is benefitting the 30-year-old, who has bought into his new role brilliantly.
Martin Odegaard
If there was a statistic for the number of assists a player should have, I am almost sure that martin Odegaard would top it. The Norwegian simply creates so many chances and lacks a reward for their quality.
Two for Gabriel Jesus, one clear one from Eddie Nketiah too. Were the forwards just that slightly bit more clinical, the Gunners would probably have been out of sight and would have had Odegaard to thank heavily for it.
Losers
Gabriel Jesus
It was difficult a month ago to think about even worrying about Gabriel Jesus’ goal tally. But with five games now without scoring and clear opportunities being missed, rightly, the Brazilian is being brought further into the spotlight.
If Arsenal are to be thought of as the only genuine side that will challenge Manchester City this season, then if they fail, without question, the difference between the two will be the striker who spearheads the side. Gabriel Jesus has without question taken this Arsenal side up a level, but when a striker can take a Premier League side that have won four of the last five titles to another level… need we say more?
In short, Jesus needs to be more clinical. For both Arsenal’s benefit and his World Cup hopes.
Mikel Arteta
Whilst the line-up received some scrutiny before the game, it was a side that looked comfortably better in the first half, especially the first 20 minutes and should have come away with a win. However, the substitutions appeared to kill it for the Gunners.
Martin Odegaard was the creative spark throughout his performance, and Fabio Vieira, who replaced him, just couldn’t get into the game. Similarly with Eddie Nketiah, changing Gabriel Martinelli instead of Jesus meant that Arsenal lacked the intensity on the left flank.
Kieran Tierney coming on improved things, but it felt as though he missed Martinelli to really throw the kitchen sink at Saints. Arteta now faces questions regarding how he rotates for the trip to Eindhoven.
Kieran Tierney
Tierney doesn’t sit in the loser category for his performance, far from it. But once again, he has to come off the bench in a Premier League game and can’t influence it in terms of a goal.
After what has happened to Tomiyasu, especially in this game, the calls for the Scot to start against Nottingham Forest will be very loud. It will be interesting to see if Arteta responds after the Gunners drop points.
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