Arsenal 3-3 Southampton: Gunners battle to draw but give City title hopes a big boost

Arsenal saved a point against Southampton with a 3-3 draw after trailing by two goals with five minutes remaining.

Bukayo Saka's last-minute equalizer earned the hosts a thrilling 3-3 draw which gives rivals Manchester City further momentum ahead of their clash at the Etihad Stadium next week.

Saints had been looking for a shock win to move up from the bottom of the table after Carlos Alcaraz opened the scoring within a minute and then assisted former Arsenal striker Theo Walcott to double the lead.

Gabriel Martinelli scored a back goal but the hosts looked down as substitute Duje Caleta-Car headed home in the second half.

However, captain Martin Odegaard netted a fine strike two minutes from time before Saka leveled late before substitute Leandro Trossard hit the crossbar in stoppage time.

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The result leaves Arsenal five points clear of City at the top, but they have now played two more games than their rivals, who they meet on Wednesday.

Arsenal had squandered a 2-0 lead in their last two games to draw with Liverpool and West Ham, but they would not have had the chance to score a hat-trick.

Mikel Arteta would have hoped for a straightforward evening but saw his side fall one goal behind after just 27 seconds as goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale handed possession to Alcaraz, who duly scored home.

Walcott doubled the lead, leaving Gabriel Magalhaes in his wake to finish quietly after latching onto an Alcaraz pass, with Emirates Stadium stunned in silence.

Oleksandr Zinchenko called an impromptu huddle to rally the hosts and it worked in the short term at least as Martinelli brought home a Saka cross.

Ben White had a graze header cleared from the line by Alcaraz in first-half stoppage time after Southampton lost Jan Bednarek to a head injury.

With Arsenal working hard and visiting keeper Gavin Bazunu doing a great job of holding the game up, it was Southampton who struck again, with Bednarek's replacement Caleta-Car free to head home at the far post as Arsenal failed to manage a corner. /p>

Arteta threw at Trossard, Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson in an attempt to set up a grandstand finish but, after Gabriel Jesus missed a few decent chances, it was skipper Odegaard whose coiled finish got them given hope.

That hope would turn into a point when Nelson's low shot was saved by Bazunu, only for Saka to react quickest and finish, before Trossard's effort from the edge of the box was sent flying over the woodwork.

Nelson then saw off a shot bravely blocked by James Ward-Prowse as Saints held on for a point and Arsenal had to regret another missed chance to put even more light between them and City.

READ MORE: Arsenal show they struggled with spectacular draw at Southampton, but also prove title pressure is too much