Arsenal 3-2 Southampton: Danny Welbeck Steals The Show As Gunners Down The Saints

Arsenal pulled off a sensational 3-2 win against a relegation-threatened Southampton at the Emirates Stadium which saw them close the gap on fifth-placed Chelsea. An early goal from Shane Long saw the Saints secure an early lead but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang came through for the Gunners with a stunning equaliser. Then, the star of the show, Danny Welbeck, scored a stunning goal to put Arsenal in the driver’s seat ahead of half-time.

However, a shock strike from Charlie Austin got Southampton back into the game but Welbeck rose to the occasion and scored a wonderful winning goal for Arsenal.

Arsenal Player Ratings

Petr Cech – 6/10

Could have done better to stop the two goals from Southampton, particularly when it came to Long’s goal. There seemed to be some miscommunication between him and Mustafi.

Hector Bellerin – 5/10

Made some good clearances but he was caught in possession several times. Bellerin also picked up a booking.

Calum Chambers – 4/10

Failed to contain Long and struggled against his pace. He was also outrun by Dusan Tadic for the equalising goal. Poor display from the youngster.

Shkodran Mustafi – 4.5/10

Mustafi made a terrible error in the build-up to Long’s goal and there is absolutely no excuse.

Sead Kolasinac – 7/10

Kolasinac worked well at the back but he offered very little going forward. However, it was good to see him back in the starting XI.

Granit Xhaka – 8/10

Xhaka put in a fine performance and guarded the defence well while also making important contributions to the attack.

Mohamed Elneny – 7.5/10

Got his basics right, ticked all the boxes and put in a decent shift as Xhaka’s partner.

Alex Iwobi – 8.5/10

Iwobi put in a spectacular performance and assisted Arsenal’s second and third goal. Unlucky that he didn’t score one for himself.

Reiss Nelson – 7/10

The youngster showed flashes of brilliance and put in a convincing display overall.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 7.5/10

Scored an important goal and displayed excellent finishing skills as well. However, besides that, he could not do much.

Danny Welbeck – 9/10

Provided a great assist for the first goal and scored the next two. In addition to that, Welbeck won a lot of headers and offered defensive support too.

Subs:

Jack Wilshere – 4/10

Came on for Nelson but he was extremely sloppy and gave away possession.

Alexandre Lacazette – 5/10

Passed the ball around but did not make an impact.

Rob Holding – 5.5/10

Made a superb block to deny Josh Sims but otherwise, Holding came on too late.