In yet another thrilling match, Arsenal fought Southampton to a 3-3 draw in their Premier League encounter on 22nd April, 2023. The Gunners staged a brilliant yet dramatic comeback after trailing the Southies 1-3 right until the 61st minute of the game. Two late goals by Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka help the Gunners save themselves from an obvious defeat at Emirates Stadium.
Southampton truly put the medal on the pedal from the get-go as they scored their first goal within the opening minute of the match, giving the rivals a major blow right at the beginning. Carlos Alcaraz was able to find the nets to help the Southies take a very early and much needed lead.
Arsenal had just tried to gather themselves around when tragedy struck as Southampton got their second goal of the match as Theo Walcott scored for his side in the 14th minute. At just 15 minutes into the first half, the Southies were already leading Arsenal 2-0. It took 20 minutes for Arsenal to finally open their account as G Martinelli scored the opening goal for his team. However, Southampton manages to hold their lead as the first half ended 2-1 in their favor.
The second half saw some back-and-forth action between both sides until Duje Caleta-Car restored the Southampton two-goal advantage and appeared to seal the three points for his team. It all seemed to go awry for Arsenal and the fans and even experts had started to anticipate an evident defeat, hoping only for some miracle to happen.
88 minutes into the game, Martin Odegaard managed to pull off a desperate yet stunning goal to set up a comeback path for Arsenal into the match. Just a couple of minutes later, Bukayo Saka scored an unexpected equalizer to level the score and bring pull Arsenal away from imminent defeat.
In an unimaginable turn of events, Arsenal managed to squeeze in two rather unexpected goals in the closing minutes of the match to save themselves from defeat. Southampton perhaps got complacent somewhere towards the end and let the match slip away from their hands, which was otherwise seeming to turn into a pleasing victory over a celebrated rival team.
Goals from Carlos Alcaraz, Theo Walcott and Duje Caleta-Car did indeed set up the right wining platform for Southampton, but their sloppy defence towards the end allowed the experienced Gunners to slide in two crucial goals to turn the match around. Arsenal mounted an incredible rally from two goals down in the final minutes to save themselves from an obvious defeat.
This is now the third draw and second in a row for Arsenal this season, which is in a way a serious concern for them as it has stalled their rise up the ranks. Manchester City on the other hand, even though five points behind, still have two games in hand and have a strong chance of overtaking them, given their strong performance this season.
