12:22 PM ET
Nick JuddTransfer writer
Arsenal lost away at Southampton in the Premier League and, in doing so, spurned a glorious chance to pull level with Tottenham Hotspur in the race for fourth place.
With rivals Spurs losing at home to Brighton earlier in the day, Arsenal had the opportunity to reach 57 points and boast a game in hand over their neighbours. However, despite a promising start to the game and a strong finish, there was a lack of urgency about Mikel Arteta’s men given the challenge at hand. Jan Bednarek scored the decisive goal against the run of play and moments before half-time when he lashed home from close range following clever work from Mohamed Elyounoussi.
Arsenal had earlier wasted two good chances to break the deadlock before then, with Saints keeper Fraser Forster making two excellent saves to deny the visitors. Forster first dived low to his right to deny Gabriel Martinelli and then high to his right to thwart Bukayo Saka — who really should have done better — from close range.
Forster then proved just as difficult to beat in the second half, with Eddie Nketiah, Saka and Granit Xhaka all coming close.
It’s now three defeats in a row for Arteta’s men, and advantage Manchester United in the race for the elusive Champions League spot.
Positives
Arsenal started brightly and dominated possession, carving out two goal-scoring chances early. The Gunners then enjoyed 80% possession at the start of the second half, 76% overall.
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Negatives
Arsenal will be kicking themselves for failing to build on a bright start. They were guilty of wasting good chances before seemingly running out of steam. They threatened late, but it was too little too late.
Manager rating out of 10
5 — Mikel Arteta started with Saka on the left and Martinelli on the right, which didn’t seem to get the best out of either player. Moreover, he persisted with Cedric on set pieces, which seemed odd given the…
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