Arsenal missed the chance to go top of the Premier League table after suffering a 4-0 defeat away to Southampton.
Leicester City’s 1-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield earlier in the day gave Arsene Wenger’s side the opportunity to leapfrog the Foxes to lead the pack ahead of next week’s final round of matches of the year.
Monday night’s victory over Manchester City was diagnosed as a true indicator of Arsenal’s title-winning credentials. After tonight’s display, however, perhaps not.
Knowing that victory would take them top, did the Gunners succumb to the same complacency that left their Champions League campaign hanging by a thread.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SFCvAFC?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3144896-https://twitter.com/hashtag/SFCvAFC?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#SFCvAFC</a> LIVE: GOAL! <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/saintsfc?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3144896-https://twitter.com/hashtag/saintsfc?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#saintsfc</a> have doubled their lead, and you have to say it's been coming <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://t.co/FszxSqlkDE" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3144896-https://t.co/FszxSqlkDE" data-vars-event-id="c23">https://t.co/FszxSqlkDE</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://t.co/eEKWZn09eM" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3144896-https://t.co/eEKWZn09eM" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/eEKWZn09eM</a> — Standard Sport (@standardsport) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/standardsport/status/680855133421465600" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3144896-https://twitter.com/standardsport/status/680855133421465600" data-vars-event-id="c23">December 26, 2015</a>
Wenger’s men were guilty as such against Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos, and with Southampton having claimed just one win in their previous seven matches, perhaps lightning struck once again.
Having lost here 2-0 last season, you would have to think so.
Every injured Arsenal player
Goals from Cuco Martina, a Shane Long double and Jose Fonte put the game beyond Arsenal’s reach, but in truth they looked ineffective throughout.
Whether defeat at St Mary’s is three-points dropped, or much, much worse, only time will tell.
Yes, Arsenal are missing key players and game changers, but this was the same team that dominated Manchester City less than a week ago.
Read More
MORE ABOUT