Goals from Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka saw us come from behind and sneak past a spirited Southampton side at the Emirates Stadium.

After a quiet first half the game came back to life as Cameron Archer put the Saints in front as they searched for their first win in our area since 1987. However, that brought us to life and Kai Havertz quickly equalized for the seventh home game in a row, and 10 minutes later substitute Martinelli gave us the lead,

We had to survive a few scares at the end as the visitors hit the rafters twice in quick succession, but Saka secured the points with two minutes remaining, recording our 400th home win in the Premier League and heading into the international break with our 16th game unbeaten run intact.

Frustration in the first half

The first 45 minutes were immediately forgotten as the Gunners were frustrated at their failure to break the stalemate despite being in complete control of the game.

Things looked good in the first 10 minutes as we lined up in the visitors’ penalty area, but with 11 Saints sitting behind the ball and trying to soak up as much as possible, clear chances were scarce.

Gabriel saw a header from a blocked corner, while Gabriel Jesus thwarted a number of chances to score. Havertz next nodded over a flag kick, while Russell Martin’s defense looked dangerous.

Only two shots on target were registered in the opening 30 minutes, with Kyle Walker-Peters testing his luck from distance, but David Raya had little trouble and, with six in his last six Emirates appearances, Havertz looked safe , that he would extend that run, although he was a flying defender stopped his shot and reached the returning Aaron Ramsdale.

As the last few minutes of the half ticked away, Jorginho fired a shot from 20 yards just past our former goalkeeper’s far post, and in stoppage time Ramsdale finally got his gloves dirty when Thomas Partey fired a low shot towards the keeper from a similar position However, the English international was able to fend off the opposing corner well as he kept a clean sheet during the break.

Archer shoots in

Martin would have been pleased that his game plan had worked and three minutes into the second half Southampton almost took the lead. Tyler Dibling slipped past Riccardo Calafiori on the right and saw a cross deflected into the path of Mateus Fernandes, who smashed it onto the top of the crossbar.

But in the 54th minute we ignored the warning and the Saints took the lead. Fernandes beat Raheem Sterling and pushed the ball over the defensive line for Archer to run onto. He calmed himself before coolly slotting the ball into the bottom corner as the visitors threatened to claim their first win in 20 top-flight games.

Two turn it over

We needed a reaction to fire up not only ourselves but the audience, and luckily it only took four minutes to get it – and of course it was the red-hot Havertz who grabbed it.

In keeping with their football philosophy, Southampton tried to pass the ball around in their own third and were caught by Bukayo Saka as he intercepted the German and immediately passed it on. His good footwork helped him create space around Taylor Harwood-Bellis, allowing him to deflect a shot off the post and become the first Gunner to score in five consecutive home league games since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in September 2019.

One player who has now scored in two successful home games in the league is Martinelli, and after coming off the bench after an hour, he needed just eight minutes to turn the game on its head.

Once again the performance came from Saka, who scored his seventh assist of the season thanks to a brilliant cross from deep that allowed Martinelli to sneak behind the Saints backline and flick the ball to the side between Ramsdale and the near post squeeze. After a lengthy VAR check for offside, the goal was scored and the turnaround was complete.

Saka seals it

But the Saints fought back and hit the woodwork twice within a minute. Dibling saw a shot from 20 yards deflect a defender and beat Raya but bounce off the base of the post and from the resulting corner the ball shot off an unsuspecting Aadam Armstrong and crashed onto the crossbar as the Emirates Stadium held its breath.

And the relief was palpable with two minutes left when Saka secured the points. Leandro Trossard had space to advance into the final third, but after his run was cut short, Yukinari Sugawara accidentally pushed the ball into the path of Saka, who immediately passed the ball past Ramsdale, putting the result beyond doubt.

What’s next?

Now it’s time for the international break, our next game takes us to Bournemouth on Saturday 19th October. The Champions League returns three days later when Shakhtar Donetsk travel to north London, followed by Liverpool on Sunday October 27th.