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Arsenal's season went from bad to worse after they dropped two crucial points at St. Mary's. The hosts got off to a sizzling start, with Charlie Austin finding the back of the net in the third minute. Southampton got their tactics spot on, hitting Arsenal hard on the break with pace, beating the offside trap set by the Gunners with absurd ease.
The Gunners huffed and puffed but simply could not find a way to crack the Southampton backline. However, super sub Olivier Giroud took matters into his own hands, or head rather, glancing one past the keeper late on to at least ensure Arsene Wenger's side escaped with a point.
Take a look at how the player's fared in what was an entertaining game at St. Mary's:
Southampton
Fraser Forster - 7
Forster produced a stunning low save off a powerful Ramsey strike in the first half to keep his side in the lead. He was barely tested apart from that and had no way of keeping out Giroud's header.
Ryan Bertrand - 6
Bertrand had a great chance to seal the game for the Saints but missed a sitter, placing his shot wide of the far post after a blistering counter-attack. With Bellerin venturing deep into Southampton territory, Bertrand had acres of space to work with in the Arsenal half and offered plenty of support to the Saints attackers, especially in the first half.
Virgil Van Dijk - 6.5
Van Dijk had a solid if not spectacular game at the heart of the Southampton defence, managing six clearances in total.
Jack Stephens - 7.5
Stephens was by far Southampton's best defender on the night, amassing a team-high three interceptions to go with five clearances. Playing on the right-hand side of defence, he held his own against the likes of Sanchez and Kolasinac, preventing them from getting goal side of him. He did pick up a late yellow though.
Maya Yoshida - 6.5
Yoshida was solid alongside Van Dijk for most of the game, although the two should have done a better job boxing out Giroud as he went up for the header that led to the equaliser.
Oriol Romeu - 7
Romeu was extremely unlucky not to have gotten his name on the scoresheet, as a wonderfully struck effort from the edge of the box left Cech on the floor only for the ball to cannon off the upright. He was the heartbeat of the Southampton side.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - 7.5
Hojbjerg produced a brilliant challenge in the first half to prevent an Arsenal counter, keeping his side in the lead. He was also extremely clever in possession, completing 93.1% of his passes.
James Ward-Prowse - 6
Ward-Prowse did not contribute too much in an attacking sense but performed his defensive duties to perfection
Dusan Tadic - 8.5
Tadic was the Man of the Match in my opinion. Controlling the midfield with his silken touch and incisive passing, he created chance after chance for Southampton in the first half, easily breaking the offside trap set by the Gunners. He provided the assist for Austin's goal with a lovely pass right through the heart of the defence.
Nathan Redmond - 7
Redmond's trickery and pace created massive headaches for the Arsenal defenders, especially with the high line they employed. However, the final ball was lacking.
Charlie Austin - 7.5
Austin gave Southampton the lead with a wonderful finish in just the third minute. He had another shot well saved by Cech and was a constant thorn in the flesh of the Arsenal defenders with his runs in behind the backline.
Substitutes
Steven Davis - N/A
Davis entered the fray in the 87th minute and did not have enough time to make an impact.
Manolo Gabbiadini - N/A
Gabbiadini was brought on five minutes from full time and did not have time to contribute significantly to his team's cause.
Sofiane Boufal - 5/10
Boufal replaced Redmond in the 73rd minute with Southampton looking to make use of his pace on the counter.
Arsenal
Petr Cech - 7
Cech could have done slightly better for the Southampton goal and maybe closed Austin down earlier, however, it would be harsh to lay the blame on him for that. He made a decent save in the first half when he got his positioning right to deny Austin a second goal. He was commanding in set-piece situations as well.
Hector Bellerin - 5.5
Bellerin was energetic on the right-hand flank but his crosses were not something to write home about. He was also often caught far too up the field and unable to track back during Southampton attacks, leaving the likes of Mertesacker and Koscielny exposed.
Per Mertesacker - 4
We know what to expect from Mertesacker now, don't we? He is slow, lumbering and poor in possession. All those were on display tonight in what was an awful performance from the German. His poor pass resulted in the loss of possession for the first goal and with Arsenal playing a high line, he found it impossible to make up the ground when Southampton broke the offside trap on numerous occasions in the first half.
Laurent Koscielny - 6
With Mertesacker struggling, much of the onus was on Laurent Koscielny to maintain the defensive line and ensure Arsenal did not concede any further goals. While he did not do a great job, he did still manage three tackles and three interceptions and was arguably the best Arsenal defender on the pitch.
Nacho Monreal - 5
Monreal looked shaky in defence, with many attacks stemming from his flank.
Sead Kolasinac - 6.5
Kolasinac bombed forward like he so often does but could not contribute much offensively with Southampton playing an extremely deep defensive line and numerous men in their own penalty box. He had a shout for a penalty in the first half, but it looked pretty soft.
Granit Xhaka - 4
Xhaka had yet another poor game in an Arsenal shirt and it is surely only a matter of time before Wenger decides he's had enough of the Swiss midfielder. Xhaka did not contribute defensively or offensively and his only contributions in the game came in the form of a few sideways passes and hurried clearances.
Aaron Ramsey - 6.5
Ramsey had a great chance in the first half to get the equaliser but his well-struck shot that was headed for the bottom corner was well kept out by Forster. Aside from that, the Welshman could not really control proceedings in the midfield. He picked up an injury late on and with Arsenal out of substitutions, was forced to remain on the field despite being in obvious discomfort.
Mesut Ozil - 6
Ozil attempted 93 passes and six crosses, the most by an Arsenal attacker. He was instrumental in the buildup to the equaliser, his twinkletoes keeping the ball away from two Southampton defenders, before feeding it to Sanchez on the left.
Alexis Sanchez - 5.5
Sanchez had a horrific game up until the 87th minute when he provided the assist for Giroud's goal. While that does increase his rating somewhat, the Chilean would be bitterly disappointed with his contributions or lack thereof on the night. With Southampton employing the low block to great effect, Sanchez attempted far too many extravagant through balls and passes in an attempt to break through the backline, giving away possession in the process and allowing Southampton to break quickly. A passing accuracy of 68% says it all.
Alexandre Lacazette - 6
Lacazette looked sharp in his movement in the first half, but drifted out of the game as it progressed. He manufactured a great opportunity for himself in the first half, exquisitely taking down a long ball before turning the defender but his shot on goal was weak and didn't trouble Forster. He also squandered a chance on the break when his touch let him down in a 3v1 situation.
Substitutes
Olivier Giroud - 8
The super sub yet again proved how impactful he can be. With Arsenal struggling to create chances on the floor, they turned to Giroud and his physical prowess to offer a new dimension to their attack and he did just that, scoring the equaliser with a beautiful glancing header off a Sanchez cross.
Jack Wilshere - 6
Wilshere replaced Granit Xhaka with around 20 minutes to go as Arsenal looked to add some creativity to their side. While Wilshere did not create many openings, he did have a decent outing on the whole.
Danny Welbeck - 5
Welbeck was introduced in place of Mertesacker with Arsenal chasing the game but did not contribute much to the side's attacks.
