For so long this trip to Southampton looked like it would be Arsenal’s third 1-0 win on the spin.
In recent weeks they have found a knack of grinding out results, which has become more important than ever in this hectic schedule.
That run ended here on the south coast, though, as Granit Xhaka’s early strike was cancelled out by Stuart Armstrong.
A point was probably no less than Southampton deserved for their second-half efforts, but for Arsenal there will be a sense of regret that they could not claim the victory.
They were by far the better team in the early stages of this game, opening Southampton up at will as the hosts struggled to get a foothold.
Xhaka and Martin Odegaard, operating as the two No8s, were getting plenty of space to cause problems as Saints were being overrun in midfield. Bukayo Saka flashed a cross in that narrowly evaded Gabriel and Odegaard dragged a shot wide.
The Gunners eventually took the lead in the 11th minute with a near carbon copy of the goal that won them the game against PSV on Thursday. Once again it was Xhaka finishing off the move as he volleyed home from the penalty spot after Ben White picked him out from the right.
Arsenal were in total control and they should have doubled their lead before the break, with Gabriel Jesus going close on more than one occasion.
Saints did manage to stem the tide, though, as they shifted to a back five but, other than set-pieces, they posed little attacking threat themselves.
It felt inevitable that Southampton would be better after the break, but Arsenal’s drop-off only compounded that.
Their usual slick passing disappeared and that was summed up in the opening five minutes of the half, when William Saliba’s loose ball to Gabriel gave Southampton a great chance to score.
Buoyed on by that the hosts pushed forward and Arsenal came under sustained pressure, with defenders throwing themselves in the way of shots and crosses. Mikel Arteta’s side just couldn’t seem to get out and it felt like a goal was coming.
When it did arrive, however, it was not in the manner you expected as Southampton worked the ball well from back to front, with Armstrong eventually firing home.
From there, you expected a reaction from Arsenal - but once again they could not click into gear and instead they had to dig in and battle.
Odegaard did have the ball in the net, however it was ruled out as the ball had gone out before Kieran Tierney had crossed it in.
That about summed up Arsenal’s afternoon as they drew their first game since January of this year.
The team has come a long way since then, but Arteta and his staff will know there is still more work to be done as they try to rebuild Arsenal.
