Premier League leaders Arsenal were held to a 2-2 draw in last night’s encounter with Southampton, but after ending the game with 10-men, it could have been much worse for Arsene Wenger’s men.
A sloppy first-half, which was even labelled by some as the worst 45-minutes they’ve ever seen under Wenger, meant The Saints lead at half-time 1-0 thanks to a Jose Fonte header, but with just seven minutes gone in the second-half, it was 2-1 Arsenal after Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla turned the game on it’s head.
However, Arsenal’s lead lasted just two minutes as Saints captain Adam Lallana made it 2-2, and that is how it remained until full-time, despite Mathieu Flamini seeing red for a two-footed challenge.
After the game, both Mauricio Pochettino and Arsene Wenger were full of praise for Southampton after they managed to hold the league leaders.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger: “We played in second gear and Southampton in fourth. They played at a higher pace than us, decided to stop us from playing and did it very well.
“You want the three points in every game but it is a difficult place Southampton. When you look at the overall record it can happen sometimes away from home you take only one point.
“Flamini got the ball. At some stage we have all the feet off the ground – when you want to run you need to put the feet off the ground.
“If you say that every time a guy makes the two-footed tackle it is a red card he deserved a red card. If you say was it a violent tackle I would say no as he played the ball. I don’t know, the referee made the decision, we have to cope with it.”
Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino: “I thought the team was outstanding. We were sensational in the first half and did really well.
“It was total football. In the second half we didn’t start so well and conceded two quick goals.
“I would highlight fact we were able to get back into it – we showed amazing character and we deserved to win in the end.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles
