Southampton 1-1 Arsenal: 3 talking points as Gunners earn rare draw

Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw away at Southampton as the Gunners were left to rue several missed chances throughout the contest. Stuart Armstrong cancelled a superb first-half Granit Xhaka strike with 30 minutes left.

Mikel Arteta named a virtually unchanged side from Leeds last weekend as Takehiro Tomiyasu continued at left-back.

The game had a similar feeling to last Sunday’s bout at Elland Road as Arsenal were pegged back amid a tired second-half effort. The Gunners had earlier gone ahead through the excellent Granit Xhaka, who continued his fine scoring run on the south coast.

Southampton 1-1 Arsenal: 3 talking points as Gunners earn rare draw

The game provided plenty of talking points here they are.

1. Granit Xhaka is in superb form

The Swiss international is in some serious form right now. Goals in back-to-back games signal a player who is up and about.

His strike against the Saints was superbly timed. Often, we see those types of strikes fly high over the bar, but for Xhaka, it slammed into the roof of the net.

The midfielder has been one of Arsenal’s best players in the season’s early stages.

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