Arsenal 3-2 Southampton: 5 Talking Points

SCORE: Arsenal 3-2 Southampton

SCORERS: Arsenal - Aubameyang 28' Welbeck 38' 81'; Southampton - Long 17' Austin 73'

Arsenal went through the motions on Sunday night as they picked up all three points despite being made to sweat in the first quarter of the match as Southampton took the lead.

The hosts hit back in the next quarter, twice, to go into the second half 2-1 up.

The second half was even more eventful as the visitors pegged Arsenal back before Welbeck managed to rise to the rather somber occasion and win Arsenal all three points.

The final moments saw two men, one from each team, get sent off.

So much to talk about! Let's jump right in!

#5 Shane Long was a pain in the Arsenal rear and always has been

Long k — Long nicked in-ahead of Mustafi to put his side in the lead.

The Republic of Ireland international has always been a menace against the North Londoners, irrespective of which side he has lined-up for against the Gunners.

He had only scored one goal all season long before he doubled his tally, thanks to some pathetic defending by Mustafi, for the campaign.

This isn't the first time that Long has gotten on the score-sheet against Arsenal. Much like his manager Mark Hughes the striker has also enjoyed coming up against them. This was his fourth against the hosts.

Those 'long' balls upfront have caused havoc at the back for Arsenal multiple times over.

#4 Danny boy gets a brace and provides a delightful assist for #YoPierre

Danny Welbeck has been playing at the highest level with the two powerhouses of the English game for some time now but has never really managed to exceed or even meet expectations.

That has led to people expecting less and less from the Englishman.

Not sure that's how he envisioned his career going when he was making his way through the ranks as an 18-year-old.

Now 27, Welbeck needs to take a good hard look in the mirror and answer some difficult questions.

And he probably did that before tonight's game because he really turned it up in the first forty-five, A delightful flick back to the Gabonese led to the leveller, all part of the larger picture - of beautiful vintage Arsenal football.

He wasn't done yet, as he received the ball - slid in by Iwobi - and looked to be direct. He came back in from the left, turned on the thrusters and four touches later, the score was 2-1 to the Gunners.

The former Manchester United man was in the thick of it in the second as well as he first managed to miss from two yards out when it seemed easier to score.

He more than made amends a few minutes later as he sprung up with the winner!

#3 Two red cards in two minutes of madness

Arsenal v Southampton - Premier League — Jack was at the centre of all the mayhem...

Things got terribly out of hand in the final moments of stoppage time as Stephens seemed to lose his head and viciously stamp-out as well as drag the substitute Jack Wilshere to the ground by his neck. The Southampton man saw red almost instantly.

Things boiled over as everyone got involved into the dispute. As things settled down, the referee, Andre Mariner, also sent off Arsenal's Egyptian central midfielder.

Elneny was rather unfortunate to receive a red but it was certainly merited when Stephens saw the same card for a horrible stamp-out on Wilshere.

The Egyptian took matters into his hands and shoved a couple of players, but probably deserved a yellow and a stern talking to instead of getting sent-off and a three-match ban.

#2 Mustafi is Arsenal's Mertesacker with a little more pace

What a hideous display of defensive work (if we can call it that) by the German centre-back. He has had a terrible season filled with a string of even worse performances right through the campaign. But tonight most certainly was the cream of the crap!

We couldn't keep up with the number of times the German made us curse or the number of times he messed up.

Southampton were not really at their 'bogey' best to be honest, but the shambolic defending by those in red meant that by the law of averages they would get one sooner or later.

But the extent to how much the Gunners stunk on the night also meant that just one goal wouldn't cut it.

So the visitors bagged two - including the one that sent shivers down the spines of the home crowd as Southampton levelled it at 2-2.

The defending by Mustafi - errant every other tackle, horribly caught out of place time and again, getting bullied in the box, losing the Ariel duels - was all a bit too familiar of his German predecessor.

And despite the odd memorable performance - the FA Cup final for Per - both have been rather shocking in the Arsenal back-line for the majority of their stay.

Mustafi was at fault for both goals and countless other moments on a forgettable night for him.

#1 Arsenal provide entertainment to all present at the Emirates, not just their own fans

Thril — Plenty of thrills and spills at the Emirates

The Gunners went behind, went ahead, got pegged back, then went ahead again before two men got sent off. Only then did they win all three points.

To give them credit, they were part of some top-quality Premier League entertainment for those tuning in across the globe; the reason why the broadcasting rights attract so much cash.

Unfortunately for those who'd turned up to enjoy a night of painless victory were made to sweat buckets before they got what they wanted.

With all eggs in Europa basket for the Gunners, we wonder if this is going to be the norm even for the home games from here on in.