Bukayo Saka saves Mikel Arteta from another unwanted record as Arsenal see red yet again

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It may have been Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who got the goal, but it was Bukayo Saka who saved Arsenal from achieving another unwanted record.

After Theo Walcott had put Southampton ahead in the first-half you feared the worst for Mikel Arteta’s side.

They were staring down the barrel of a fifth straight home league defeat and that has never happened in Arsenal’s history.

Somehow, though, they found a way to snatch a 1-1 draw despite another poor performance and another red card.

Aubameyang was the man who got the goal, firing the ball home in the 52nd minute, but Arteta has Saka to thank for bailing him out.

The teenager produced a magical, mazy run in the build-up to the goal and he was once again Arsenal’s best player. How many times have we said that this season?

It is a familiar theme and one that has become the norm. It also sums up where Arsenal are right now - relying on a teenager to save the day.

There was some improvement here, evidence of fight in the second-half and spirit to go with it.

But in reality, Arsenal were miles off Southampton - who bossed the midfield and looked the better side all night.

They will leave north London thinking, and being disappointed, they only claimed one point. That says a lot about where they are right now, but it also tells us about where Arsenal are too.

They were clinging on for the draw and the relief at the full-time whistle said it all. They’ve stopped the rot, but the crisis is far from over.

Arsenal stopped in tracks by yet another red card

This was a difficult night for Arsenal and, just like against Burnley on Sunday, they made it hard for themselves. It was a case of deja vu as, just when the Gunners were on top, they had a man sent off.

This time it was Gabriel Magalhaes given his marching orders as the Brazilian picked up two yellow cards in the space of four minutes. It was a different kind of stupidity to Granit Xhaka’s act of madness against Burnley, where he grabbed Ashley Westwood’s throat, but it was equally naive.

The first of Gabriel’s bookings was for kicking the ball away to stop a quick free-kick, while the second he was punished for getting too tight to Walcott. The centre-back knew as soon as he’d brought down Walcott that his time was up and he had no complaints.

Arsenal, however, were left to rue going down to 10 men again as it stopped them in their tracks. They held on to claim a point, but three could have been theirs if they’d kept their discipline.

Walcott returns to haunt Arsenal

It was a goal right out of the Walcott playbook and one Arsenal fans have seen time and time again. Sadly for them, he was scoring it tonight in a Southampton shirt. The 31-year-old returned to Emirates Stadium to haunt Arsenal and put Saints ahead. It was a lovely dinked finish and one that had him wheeling away in celebration.

Walcott has had a difficult time since leaving Arsenal, with his move to Everton not really working out. Back at Southampton now, though, the winger is looking like his old self again. He certainly was against Arsenal, much to Arteta’s pain.

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