Arsenal suffered a crushing defeat, missing the chance to take the top spot

The stars under coach Wenger, in the latest match of round 18 of the Premier League, caused a shock when they lost 0-4 to Southampton, who were rated as inferior.

The 0-4 defeat was not only a bitter gift for Arsenal's loyal fans who had travelled to St Mary's Stadium on Boxing Day yesterday, December 26, but also caused Wenger's team to miss the chance to climb to the top of the Premier League table on a cold evening when Leicester lost 0-1 to Liverpool. Worse, the defeat at the hands of Southampton also dealt a heavy blow to Arsenal's hopes of competing for the title, which had been fuelled by a series of impressive results before, most recently by the 2-1 victory that created illusions against Man City in round 17.

Arsenal fans were devastated when their beloved team suffered a crushing defeat on Boxing Day. Photo: Reuters.

What happened at St Mary’s was something of a shock. Southampton, who had been mediocre this season, suddenly regained their image as the dark horse, the phenomenon of the Premier League last season - sublime, reasonable and effective. That transformation brought four goals, with a brace from Shane Long and goals from Cuco Martina and Jose Fonte. Meanwhile, Arsenal’s in-form attack was incredibly unlucky in front of the home team’s goal.

In the 19th minute, full-back Cuco Martina marked his first Premier League start with a brilliant goal - a shot with the outside of his right foot from 27 metres that went beyond Petr Cech's reach.

Arsenal were not without chances. From the beginning of the match until after conceding, Walcott and Giroud created many dangerous situations, but could not score. The "Gunners" paid the price for wasting their chances.

From a quick counter-attack in the 55th minute, Shane Long easily tapped the ball from close range to make it 2-0 for Southampton. A few minutes later, Fonte headed in the third goal for the home team. In the 90th minute, Arsenal ended a disastrous day with the image of Per Mertesacker being "smelled in smoke" by Shane Long in the goal that sealed Southampton's 4-0 victory.

Cech was helpless as he conceded four goals as his teammates up front suddenly faded. Photo: Reuters.

Before this match, Arsenal had lost only one of their last 11 Premier League games and were in good spirits after their 2-1 win over Man City last round. Olivier Giroud alone scored six goals in his last four games in all competitions. Meanwhile, Southampton had gone five games without a win and were only four points above the relegation zone.

With Leicester beaten by Liverpool just hours earlier, Arsenal were expected to dethrone them at the top of the table. However, Mesut Ozil, the man most expected to be on the scoresheet, was poor against Southampton's midfield, with Theo Walcott completing just 20 passes before being substituted in the 78th minute.

The home side, on the other hand, were in high spirits. Victor Wanyama, with six accurate tackles and 10 interceptions, stifled Arsenal's star midfielders. Laurent Koscielny was beaten by Shane Long in a duel that led to Southampton's second goal. In the final goal, the Irishman used his pace to outrun Per Mertesacker. He was named man of the match.

Wenger still has a lot of work to do if he wants to turn Arsenal into a serious title contender. Photo: Reuters.

In the early morning of December 29 (Hanoi time), Arsenal will host Bournemouth, who just held Crystal Palace to a 0-0 draw and are unbeaten in their last six matches. Meanwhile, Southampton will face West Ham in the match at the same time.

According to VNE