Three Things: Arsenal Draw 2-2 at Southampton

Arsenal played one of the worst halves of their season so far, lucky to be only 1-0 down at halftime after Sam Gallagher missed a chance to make it two on an open shot off a reflection in front of goal. The scoring started in the 21^st minute when a lovely Luke Shaw cross found Jose Fonte at the far corner. Fonte outmuscled Nacho Monreal, who really should have done better, heading past a bumbling Szczesny, who got caught peddling back and beaten at the near corner. But the EPL leaders started the second half brightly and soon had a 2-1 lead. The scoring started in the 48^th when Sagna sent in a shot off a long cross from Monreal, with Giroud finishing with a lovely back heel (scoring his fourth in the last five games).  4 minutes later, Cazorla continued his torrid form (5 in 5) with a lovely finish off an Ozil cross to the far corner. Unfortunately, that lead only lasted two minutes before another defensive lapse on a ball over the top led to the leveler by captain Lallana. From there both teams had chances to take all three points, with Ozil storming from the middle through to see his deflected shot fall just over the bar and Monreal sent through but shooting high and wide. After several more chances for Arsenal and Southampton, an awful two-footed challenge by Flamini led to a straight red in the 80^th minute and the Gunners had to hold on for dear life to grab the away point. It was a disappointing result in the end, with City having a chance to go top tomorrow, if they can get past Tottenham. Three things from the game …

1. The Fade? Arsenal fans have become accustomed to heartbreak over the past 9 years. It started in 2006, blowing a 1-0 lead against Barcelona in the Champions League final, the late fade in the title race a couple of years later, the blown game against soon-to-be-relegated Birmingham City in the Capital One final, the Fabergas error that started the Barcelona second leg comeback in the UCL the same year, the collapse against both Bradford and Blackburn last season in the Cups and a host of others. Arsenal next has a game against Crystal Palace and then two against Liverpool, Manchester United at home and then Bayern Munich. It will be imperative to perform well through this stretch, setting themselves up for a daunting fixture list in March. This result is not fatal to their title hopes, particularly as Chelsea and City square off next Monday, but they will need to up their game after a very average display today.

2. Double DM: playing Arteta and Flamini together should shore up the defense and allow the more creative players ahead to comfortably forge forward. But today, the pair were consistently beaten by long balls over the top and crosses from both full backs. It appears too much may be given up when they play together and it is better to have one with either Ramsey (who will be out longer, after suffering a setback in training) or Wilshere by their side, providing more poise and forward momentum. Too many attacks in the first half went down one of the wings and fizzled out because of sloppy play or lack of options. The short stretch in the second showed what the Gunners can do, but it wasn’t enough to take all three points.

3. Giroud/Cazorla Renaissance: Giroud and Cazorla both scored, giving Arsenal the short-lived lead and their form in the last five games, together with better play from Wilshere until tonight, will be critical to Arsenal as they face off against the rest of the top six. Giroud seems to have rediscovered his finishing touch and Cazorla has become more active and accurate around the box. When Ramsey returns to the fold, and if Ozil can more consistently play as he did for the first 20 minutes of the second half, the combined forward threats could see Arsenal snip the title. It still does seem Arsenal should dip into the transfer window and grab a backup striker, particularly given Bendtner’s awful display in his last FA Cup outing and Ramsey’s continued absence. But the future could still be bright if Arsenal eliminate the defensive errors that cost them dearly tonight.