Southampton v Arsenal ratings: Elyounoussi 8, Diallo 6; Xhaka 8, Odegaard 7

Gunners drop points for only the second time this season

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  SOUTHAMPTON RATINGS: Gavin Bazunu - 7. A strong performance from the Southampton goalkeeper who produced a series of stops to keep his side in the game, including a smart save to deny Gabriel Jesus from point-blank range late in the first half. AFP

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  Duje Caleta-Car - 6. Survived a major scare when Jesus took a tumble in the box as the hosts continued to play with fire. There was contact, but not enough according to VAR. That tussle continued throughout, but fairly in the referee’s opinion. EPA

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  Lyanco - 6. Snatched at a rare chance from distance but his feeble effort was easily saved by Aaron Ramsdale. Enjoyed a feisty battle with Jesus at the other end and gave the latter an earful after he was caught by a stray arm. EPA

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  Mohamed Salisu - 7. Probably his side's best defender despite a couple of edgy moments. Used his body well to hold off Bukayo Saka inside the opening minutes and he was in the right place at the right time to make a vital intervention from a cross from the left. Getty

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  Romain Perraud - 6. Forced a rare opportunity for Southampton to attack the Arsenal goal in the first half when his burst down the left saw his cross deflected behind by Ben White. Saw a second-half piledriver fly over the bar. EPA

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  Mohamed Elyounoussi - 8. Excellent. Battled hard but ended up playing wing-back for large spells. Charged back to thwart Jesus with a stunning last-ditch challenge and turned Tomiyasu inside out before slotting in Stuart Armstrong to level. EPA

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  Ibrahima Diallo - 6. Unable to contain the free-flowing Gunners in the first half. Much better after the break as Southampton were finally able to secure a foothold in the game and that gave them a platform to build on. Getty

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  James Ward-Prowse - 6. Effectively nullified by a dominant Arsenal performance in the first half and he almost gifted the Gunners a second goal when he carelessly gave away possession in his own half. Pinned some awkward deliveries on Ramsdale from corners. Reuters

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  Joe Aribo - 6. Ran into traffic a couple of times in the first half but he grew into the game as it progressed and did well to put Ramsdale under pressure as the ‘keeper almost fluffed a clearance. Later fired straight down the latter’s throat from close-range. PA

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  Stuart Armstrong - 7. Proved exactly why 1-0 is such a dangerous scoreline when he took advantage of more excellent work from Elyounoussi and calmly rolled the ball past Ramsdale. Not a bad time to grab your first goal in 21 games. Getty

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  Adam Armstrong - 5. Huffed and puffed but spurned a really good opportunity when a loose touch allowed Gabriel to clear following a rare mistake at the back from Saliba. AFP

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  SUBS: Theo Walcott (on for Joe Aribo, ‘73) - N/A. Looked understandably rusty but should have provided a better delivery after he was fed by Samuel Edozie. Became the second player of the afternoon to see yellow for simulation. Reuters

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  Che Adams (on for A Armstrong, ‘73) - N/A. Caused problems with his energy and endeavour, and perhaps should have started taking that into account. Getty

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  Samuel Edozie (on for S Armstrong, ‘80) - N/A. Replaced the goalscorer and gave a really good account of himself in a fearless display. Wanted to run forward at every opportunity, but equally his ball retention was excellent. EPA

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  ARSENAL RATINGS: Aaron Ramsdale - 7. A frustrating afternoon for the Arsenal goalkeeper who was rarely tested aside from a few routine stops, but he was let down by his defenders as Southampton snatched a point. AFP

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  Ben White - 7. A really good first half from the England defender who assisted the opening goal with a precise delivery from the right-hand side that was thundered home by Xhaka after some nice link-up play with Saka. Getty

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  William Saliba - 6. A good display overall all, but a couple of defensive mistakes ultimately cost his side, and things could have been worse had Gabriel not rescued the situation after a poor pass out from the back by Saliba. Getty

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  Gabriel - 7. Won virtually everything in a big performance, but he’ll be disappointed that he didn’t pick up the runner as the hosts equalised on the counter-attack. Other than that he was solid once again. Reuters

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  Takehiro Tomiyasu - 5. Failed to match the attacking qualities of White and Kieran Tierney or the defensive resilience of Gabriel and Saliba, and it was all too easy for Elyounoussi to cut inside and find Armstrong to make 1-1. EPA

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  Thomas Partey - 6. Brilliant in the first half but poor in the second as Arsenal appeared to run out of steam, which was epitomised by some sloppy passing and poor ball retention from Partey. AP

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  Granit Xhaka - 8. Another impressive outing from the Switzerland man who seems like a different beast this year, and he added another goal to his tally with a clinical finish when he smashed past a helpless Bazunu to open the scoring. EPA

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  Bukayo Saka - 6. A typically industrious display from the youngster who has been unplayable for large parts of the season so far, but this was a frustrating afternoon for the 21-year-old whose vicious delivery just evaded Gabriel, before he was booked for diving. Reuters

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  Martin Odegaard - 7. A respectable outing from the Norwegian playmaker, although his best contribution came out of possession as he raced across to snuff out a dangerous counter with Arsenal defenders caught up the pitch. PA

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  Gabriel Martinelli - 7. Ran Southampton defenders ragged at times, but Arsenal just couldn’t pick him out in dangerous areas often enough. A decent display from the forward who glided past a series of challenges before his effort was deflected narrowly wide. AP

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  Gabriel Jesus - 6. Wasteful. Squandered multiple chances as he could only pick out the side netting or the goalkeeper, and he was robbed by a brilliant Elyounoussi challenge when clean through on goal. Despite that, his movement was generally really good. EPA

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  SUBS: Kieran Tierney (on for White, ‘71) - N/A. Definitely improved Arsenal on the left-hand side. Picked out Odegaard to smash home with a neat cut-back on the slide, but the ball had just gone out of play. EPA

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  Fabio Vieira (on for Joe Odegaard, ‘83) - N/A. Couldn’t unlock a stubborn Southampton defence despite his best efforts. He was OK, but he didn’t really improve Arsenal and Odegaard’s absence was clearly noticeable. PA

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  Eddie Nketiah (on for Joe Aribo, ‘72) - N/A. Did his best to make a nuisance of himself and forced a corner with a decent effort from the edge of the box, but he was largely outmuscled. Getty

Arsenal dropped points for only the second time this season as Stuart Armstrong forced the Premier League leaders to settle for a 1-1 draw against Southampton on Sunday.

Mikel Arteta's side went in front through Granit Xhaka's first-half strike at St Mary's. But Armstrong levelled after the interval as Arsenal paid the price for failing to convert several chances.

Even so, Arsenal have 28 points after 11 matches, which is their best ever total at this stage of the season.

Manager Arteta said: "We had three or four good opportunities and should have scored more. We needed two or three goals, but only scored one.

"It's very disappointing. We created enough chances but couldn't put the ball away.

"It's a lesson because we wanted to win again. They put us under more pressure through direct play in the second half, and we were struggling."

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