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

Wenger's star-studded squad, in the late match of the 18th round of the Premier League, suffered a shocking 0-4 defeat against the supposedly weaker Southampton.

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

Arsenal fans were heartbroken as their beloved team suffered a humiliating defeat on Boxing Day. Photo: Reuters.

What unfolded at St Mary's was a shock. Southampton, who had been underwhelming this season, unexpectedly rediscovered their form as a dark horse, a phenomenon of the Premier League last season – brilliant, well-organized, and effective. This transformation resulted in four goals, with a brace from Shane Long and strikes from Cuco Martina and Jose Fonte. Meanwhile, Arsenal's in-form attack proved incredibly ineffective in front of the home side's goal.

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

Arsenal weren't without chances. From the start of the match until after conceding the goal, Walcott and Giroud created numerous dangerous situations, but failed to score. The Gunners paid the price for squandering their opportunities.

From a quick counter-attack in the 55th minute, Shane Long easily tapped the ball in 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 capped off a disastrous day with Per Mertesacker being left in the dust by Shane Long in Southampton's goal that sealed a 4-0 victory.

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

Prior to this match, Arsenal had lost only one of their last 11 Premier League games and were in good spirits after their 2-1 win against Man City in the previous round. Olivier Giroud had scored six goals in his last four games across all competitions. Meanwhile, Southampton were on a five-game winless streak and were only four points above the relegation zone.

With Leicester having been beaten by Liverpool a few hours earlier, Arsenal were expected to take the top spot in the table. However, Mesut Ozil, the player most anticipated, was lackluster against Southampton's midfield. Theo Walcott only managed 20 passes before being substituted in the 78th minute.

Conversely, the home team played with great enthusiasm. Victor Wanyama, with six accurate tackles and 10 interceptions, completely stifled Arsenal's star midfielders. Laurent Koscielny was beaten by Shane Long in a one-on-one duel leading to Southampton's second goal. For the final goal, the Irish striker used his speed to get past Per Mertesacker. He was chosen as 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 hours of December 29th (Hanoi time), Arsenal will host Bournemouth, who recently drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace and are unbeaten in their last six matches. Meanwhile, Southampton will face West Ham in a match played at the same time.

According to VNE