IT WAS all even at St Mary’s Stadium as Southampton and Arsenal played out a hard-fought 1-1 draw in front of 31,226 fans on Sunday afternoon.

A first-half goal by Granit Xhaka was cancelled out by Stuart Armstrong’s 65th-minute leveller, as the north Londoners extended their lead at the top of the table to two points from Manchester City.

Arsenal came into the match in fine form, on the back of three 1-0 victories as part of nine wins in 10 in the Premier League, as well as sealing qualification to the Europa League group stages, following their 1-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven on Thursday, with Xhaka grabbing the winner.