ARSENAL’s title hopes are hanging by a thread after Mikel Arteta’s Premier League leaders shot themselves in both feet against bottom of the table Southampton.
Now it’s s*** or bust at Manchester City next Wednesday, when nothing less than victory will be enough to keep their dreams alive.
And after chucking away six points in their last three games you certainly wouldn’t bet on them stopping the rot against Pep Guardiola’s serial Champions.
It could have been a whole worse for Arteta’s men, who staged another stunning late comeback with two goals in the dying minutes from Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka.
But in the cold light of day this will still feel like another two points dropped rather than one point saved for a team who look to be losing their nerve at the business end of the season again.
Because if Arsenal supporters thought that surrendering consecutive two-goal leads against Liverpool and West Ham was bad, it didn’t even compare to this horror show.
Their team was trailing right from the kick-off and completely lost their heads as struggling Southampton so nearly pulled off the biggest shock of the season.
Now Saints boss Ruben Selles will have to pick his team off the floor again after they were denied a first away win at Arsenal since 1987 right at the death.
But though they remain deep in the brown stuff, at least they have momentum on their side for the battles ahead.
Which is more than can be said for Arsenal right now
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Arteta had claimed that his team had been so fired up in training all week that he’d actually had to hold them back.
But that certainly wasn’t how it looked when they found themselves a goal down after just 27 seconds with keeper Aaron Ramsdale apparently half asleep.
There was no pressure whatsoever on the England international when he received the ball straight from kick-off but for some unfathomable reason he rolled it directly to Saints star Carlos Alcaraz.
The young Argentine could barely believe his luck as he picked his spot and calmly slotted his shot into the top corner.
It wasn’t quite as quick as the goal Arsenal conceded to Bournemouth in just 9.11 seconds last month yet it came as even more of a shock to the stunned Emirates supporters.
But worse was soon to follow for Arteta when another of his most reliable players handed struggling Saints another gift-wrapped goal in the 14th minute.
This time it was skipper Martin Odegaard who conceded cheap possession for Alcaraz to turn provider with a perfectly weighted through ball to Theo Walcott.
The one-time Arsenal favourite might not be as quick as he used to be but he still had enough pace to run away from Gabriel Magalhaes and roll his shot beyond the bewildered Ramsdale.
At least he had the good grace not to celebrate the goal which threatened to wreck his former team’s title dreams.
But it was still too much for Oleksandr Zinchenko, who furiously summoned all his team-mates for an urgent pep talk/b******ing.
And those home truths finally seemed to rouse his dopey team-mates from their torpor when Gabriel Martinelli reduced the arrears midway through the first-half.
Saka skinned Romain Perraud down the flank and when he crossed from the by-line Martinelli was perfectly placed to score his 15th goal of the season with a thumping volley.
Yet still Arsenal were still as wide open as a barn door at the back and it took a vital double save from Ramsdale from Mohamed Elyounoussi and Alcaraz to make partial amends for his earlier howler.
But inspired by memories of recent comeback victories against Bournemouth and Aston Villa, Arsenal now had the bit between their teeth and laid siege to Gavin Bazunu’s goal.
Odegaard headed over, Fabio Vieira shot wide, Ben White’s header was cleared off the line by that man Alcaraz and Gabriel Jesus had a couple of efforts blocked by Bazunu and Armel Bella-Kotchap.
The visitors were fighting for their lives seemed to be inviting trouble when the impressive Alcaraz was hauled off at half-time to go with a back five.
But Selles clearly knew what he was doing when James Ward-Prowse’s 66th minute corner was flicked on by Bella-Kotchap for sub Duje Caleta-Car to head in at the back post.
Yet the one thing you can say about this Arsenal team is that they never know when they are beaten and when Odegaard fired home in the 88th minute another famous prison break was on.
Saka lifted the roof off the Emirates when he fired in a 90th minute equaliser after Bazunu could only parry an initial low effort.
It means Arsenal are now just five points ahead of City, who have two games in hand and home advantage in next week’s title decider.
Game over the Gunners?
It’s beginning to look that way.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
