Premier League leaders, Arsenal were held to a 2-2 draw by Southampton at the St. Mary’s Stadium on Tuesday evening. The home side dominated the first half of the encounter, pegging Arsenal to their half and reducing the London side to long balls. It was testament to the expert and disciplined approach of the Saints that Arsenal were unable to hold on to the ball for a long stretch of time and they were unable to register a shot at goal for the majority of the half.
Southampton deservedly took the lead in the 20th minute of the encounter through a Fonte header and they went into the break with a 1-0 advantage.
The Gunners came out smoking in the second half and within two minute of the restart, Arsenal equalized through Olivier Giroud in the 47th minute. Four minute later, the visitors were 2-1 up after Santi Cazorla scored from with a well taken shot from the edge of the box.
However, Southampton responded swiftly as Lallana equalized for the Saints in the 53rd minute. The home side seized the initiative from then on as they piled pressure on the on the visitors. The night however got worse for Arsenal when Matthieu Flamini was sent off in the 80th minute for a rash challenge, however, Arsenal managed to hang on and head back to London with one point.
Source : http://www.fcnaija.com/march-report-southampton-v-arsenal/
No comments:
Post a Comment