Arsenal vs Southampton. Premier League.
Emirates StadiumAttendance60,295.
Report and match highlights as pressure grows on Unai Emery
Saturday 23 November 2019 22:24, UK
Arsenal were booed off at the Emirates despite rescuing a point with a late Alexandre Lacazette equaliser in a chaotic 2-2 draw with Southampton.
The Gunners were facing an embarrassing home defeat after goals from Danny Ings (9) and James Ward-Prowse (71) put Saints on the verge of their first Premier League win away at Arsenal.
Lacazette, who had already equalised earlier (18), grabbed a last-gasp leveller (90+6) but it was met by underwhelming Arsenal celebrations with their team second best for large periods, and the pressure intensifies on boss Unai Emery.
Relegation-threatened Saints, who registered 21 shots on goal, should have wrapped the points up in injury time but substitute Moussa Djenepo squandered two huge opportunities leaving Ralph Hasenhuttl's men without a win in the Premier League in their last eight matches.
Both managers came into this game under enormous pressure but it was Southampton that played with the shackles off in the early stages, pressing Arsenal high and creating opportunities.
The difference in enthusiasm levels was on show for Southampton's opening goal on nine minutes.
Ryan Bertrand won a foul on the left and whilst the Arsenal back five switched off, Bertrand took a quick free-kick that released Ings in on goal. The Saints striker - who has now scored seven goals against the 'big six' since the start of last season- remained calm and fired a powerful low drive in off the post.
Southampton remained the better team with Hasenhuttl's message of intensity and aggression in their play clearly getting across. Ings looped a decent opportunity over the bar before James Ward-Prowse stung the gloves of Bernd Leno.
With the home crowd turning, Arsenal grabbed a leveller to ease the groans in the home stands.
Kieran Tierney's cross from the left wasn't dealt with by the Saints backline and after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's effort was blocked, Lacazette was on hand to turn home from close range.
Emery sent on Nicholas Pepe after the break and switched to a back four which yielded a positive response as Arsenal dominated for the first 15 minutes of the second half. But a goal did not come as Pepe's acrobatic effort came crashing back off the crossbar and Aubameyang was denied by a smart stop by Alex McCarthy.
Sokratis almost gifted Southampton the advantage on 67 minutes when being disposed inside his own area but Cedric Soares couldn't find Michael Obafemi with the final ball.
Saints did get their noses in front minutes later. Tierney recklessly pulled Ings' shirt as he attempted to get to an Obafemi cross and after a VAR check that deemed him onside, the penalty was awarded.
Ward-Prowse's effort from 12 yards was palmed away by Leno but the midfielder was first to react and slammed home the rebound.
A final 15 minute onslaught was expected from the hosts but it never materialised as Hassenhutl's men finished strongly, playing some clever football on the counter. Djenepo had an effort cleared off the line by Joe Willock before somehow firing wide minutes later from no more than eight yards out.
Those misses came back to haunt the visitors in a big way when Lacazette fired home at the back from Arsenal's last attack.
It was a cruel sucker punch for Hassenhutl and his men to take and the home fans knew it.
In a game littered with mistakes, the Saints full-back provided consistent quality when roaming forward and was defensively reliable when Hector Bellerin tested him the other way. It was his chemistry with Redmond down the left that forced Arsenal back on plenty of occasions and it was from his clever quickly taken free-kick that Southampton opened the scoring.
Arsenal head coach Unai Emery: "We are disappointed and frustrated about the result. I understand the supporters feel the same but the players' attitude was good. We had our moments to win the match but over 90 minutes only the 20 minutes in the second half we deserved to score.
"It was not a good performance. We lost our opportunity to show we have improved but we haven't improved. The supporters helped us and had our back. But we didn't show the capacity to win.
"My job is to analyse and find solutions. We need to recover confidence. One good result will give us that confidence to achieve that performance."
Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl: "Some players put in their best performance of the season today - that's the reaction I wanted to see. We surprised Arsenal by winning the ball in their half - we had so many chances, Boufal, Djenepo, oh my god. I'm happy with the performance but I think we deserved more."
Arsenal host Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League in midweek before a trip to Norwich next Sunday lunchtime, live on Sky Sports.
Meanwhile, Southampton are also front of the Sky Sports cameras next Saturday (5:30) when Watford visit St Mary's.
