Arsenal 3-1 Southampton (Oct 5, 2024) Match analysis

Arsenal recovered from a goal against lowly Southampton to win 3-1 after a thrilling second half in their Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, with winger Bukayo Saka playing a key role in the win.

Southampton were in a much better position compared to their previous 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth, but had no answer to Saka's boundless creativity, who created two goals and scored a third in a tense individual performance.

After a dull first half, the visitors, who came into the game in 19th place in the league with a single point, took a surprise lead through Cameron Archer in the 55th minute as Arsenal were caught flat-footed by a rare counter-attack – Attack.

However, this lead was short-lived as Saka, who had looked lively from the start, brought Kai Havertz level less than four minutes later. In doing so, he became the first Arsenal player since Robin van Persie to score seven consecutive home games in all competitions.

Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

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With Southampton struggling to break through Arsenal's press, coach Mikel Arteta initiated changes up front and it didn't take long for his side to take the lead.

Coming on after just over an hour, substitute Gabriel Martinelli gave Arsenal the lead nine minutes later with a brilliant first-time finish from close range after Saka had picked him out at the back post with a great cross.

All that was missing from Saka's outstanding performance was a goal of his own, and he put himself on the scoresheet in the 88th minute, capping his superb individual performance with a deft right-footed finish that put the game out of reach.

“It was a tough call but we showed our qualities – we know they are a really good team and played really well too, to be fair, but we did well. We won the game, so it's really us.” “I'm happy with the result,” Gabriel Martinelli told the BBC.

The win means Arsenal go into the international break in third place in the table with 17 points, level with second-placed Manchester City and one behind leaders Liverpool.

Southampton coach Russell Martin was happy with his team's performance despite another 3-1 defeat.

“I feel a lot more positive and proud of my team than I did on Monday night and we played against one of the best teams in the country. If we played like that in the next block of games, I would be very happy,” said Martin.