Arsenal draws at home against Southampton in the Premier League – International Football – Sports

Five days after the crucial trip to the field of their rival for the title, Manchester City (2nd), Arsenal (1st) saved a point in extremis (3-3) at home against bottom club Southampton, this Friday at the start of matchday 32 of the Premier League.

The Gunners’ five point lead over the Citizens is misleading as the latter have two fewer games. Both teams will collide on Wednesday in what is practically a ‘final’ for the title.

Arsenal lose ground

At the Etihad Stadium, the team led by Mikel Arteta, who is throwing away the income he had achieved during a large part of the championship, will face a City in top form, capable of winning 25 of the last 27 points.

This Friday the Argentine Carlos Alcaraz was the protagonist in the first two goals for Southampton. He first took the opportunity to coolly score after a mistake by goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale after 30 seconds and then sent ex-Gunners player Theo Walcott into space to score (14).

After this catastrophic start, the Ukrainian Oleksandr Zinchenko called an emergency meeting, with all the players swirling around looking for the recipe to try to avoid the debacle.

The harangue had an immediate effect and a great collective play was converted by the Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli (20) with a volley. Already in the second half, the Croatian center-back Duje Caleta-Car, alone at the far post after taking a corner, seemed to sentence the bottom team (66). But the Gunners saved a point thanks to their stars Martin Odegaard (88) and Bukayo Saka (90).

Two minutes later the Belgian Leandro Tossard shot from 18 meters and found the crossbar in what would have been 4-3 for the leaders.

AFP

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