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Arsenal salvaged a point against Southampton in a 3–3 draw after being two goals down with five minutes remaining.
Bukayo Saka’s last-minute equalizer gave the home side a thrilling 3-3 draw which still gives rivals Manchester City momentum ahead of their fixture at the Etihad Stadium next week.
The Saints had been looking for a shock victory to move away from the bottom of the table after Carlos Alcaraz opened the scoring within a minute and then set up ex-Arsenal striker Theo Walcott to double the lead.
Gabriel Martinelli rallied a goal but the hosts looked down upon when substitute Duje Caleta-Car headed home in the second half.
However, captain Martin Odegaard put in a fine strike with two minutes left before Saka converted a late equalizer before substitute Leandro Trossard hit the bar in stoppage time.
The result leaves Arsenal five points clear of top-notch City, but they have now played two more games than their rivals, who they meet on Wednesday.
Arsenal had let slip a 2-0 lead in their last two games by drawing with both Liverpool and West Ham, but would be without a chance to score a hat-trick.
Mikel Arteta would have hoped for an easy night but saw his side score after just 27 seconds when goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale gave possession to Alcaraz, who went home.
Walcott doubled the lead, leaving Gabriel Magalhaes behind to finish coldly after hooking up a pass from Alcaraz, with Emirates Stadium stunned into silence.
Oleksandr Zinchenko called an impromptu meeting to rally the home side and it worked at least in the short term as Martinelli converted home a Saka cross.
Ben White had a header cleared off the line by Alcaraz in first-half stoppage time after Southampton lost Jan Bednarek to a head injury.
With Arsenal working hard and away goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu doing a fine job of stopping play, it was Southampton who struck again, Bednarek’s replacement Caleta-Car were free to walk home to the back post as the Arsenal couldn’t manage a corner.
Arteta bowled Trossard, Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson in an attempt to create a grandstand finish but, after Gabriel Jesus had missed a couple of decent chances, it was skipper Odegaard whose curling finish gave them hope.
That hope turned into a point when Nelson’s low shot was saved by Bazunu, only for Saka to react quicker and finish, before Trossard’s shot from the edge of the box hit the woodwork.
Nelson then saw a shot bravely blocked from behind by James Ward-Prowse as Saints held on for a point and Arsenal were left regretting another missed opportunity to put further light between them and City.
READ MORE: Arsenal show struggle in dramatic Southampton draw but also show title pressure is too much
