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.

At St Mary’s it was Xhaka once again who showed his quality by firing home his third Premier League goal of the season, to make it four in all competitions this term.

The 30-year-old Swiss international’s 11th-minute strike ensured Mikel Arteta’s table-toppers came flying out of the blocks early on once again, scoring more goals (10) inside the opening half-an-hour of matches than any other side in the top flight so far.

The goal came after a flowing move that saw Ben White feed the former Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder, who showed excellent technique to powerfully guide the ball past Saints keeper Gavin Bazunu to make it 1-0 to Arsenal.

The goal sent the supporters in the away end into raptures, with the 3,000 vociferous travelling Gooners heard throughout the match, joyously exhorting their heroes on, in what could be a memorable campaign, indeed.

Yet the second goal did not materialise in the first half, as Ralph Hassenhuttl’s side battled for a foothold.

As the bright blue skies on the sunny south coast turned to gunmetal grey once again, following the morning’s torrential rain in many parts, referee Lee Betts clouded his reputation among the Arsenal fraternity by awarding Bukayo Saka a yellow card for diving.

Betts’ verdict on the 21-year-old England star on the half hour was a strange decision that, if repeated up and down the country every weekend, would see a substantial number of players cautioned for simply tangling with defenders.

As the half wore on, a spell of intense pressure saw a flurry of corners, accurately flighted in by Saints’ captain and deadball specialist, James Ward-Prowse as the home side aimed to add to their meagre three goals in their last six league matches.

Seasoned observers felt that the Gunners needed a second to kill the game. However, on 65 minutes, Southampton equalised through Armstrong. The 30-year-old former Celtic attacker sent the ball past visitors’ keeper Aaron Ramsdale to make it 1-1.

Kudos must also go to Saints No 24 Mohamed Elynoussi, who drove at a backpeddalling Arsenal defence to play in Armstrong, who made no mistake.

As the clock ticked down, Arteta made a double substitution, bringing on Eddie Nketiah and Kieran Tierney in place of Gabi Martinelli and Ben White, while Hassenthuttl opted to throw on former Gunner Theo Walcott in place of Adam Armstrong.

While it was good to see Walcott receive a round of applause from the fair-minded travelling contingent, three points were all that mattered.

To this end, Arteta also chose Fabio Vieira to replace Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard, who moments earlier correctly had a goal disallowed.

But the changes were to no avail in a frantic finale punctuated more by endeavour than creativity, leaving both sides to settle for a point apiece at the final whistle, as the rain came down in stair rods once again.

Hassenhuttl’s obdurate Saints now have a week to prepare for the trip to south London, where they will take on Crystal Palace, while Arsenal must travel to Holland to face PSV on Thursday, in a bid to seal top spot in their Europa League group and thereby avoid an extra pair of play-off matches in February.

For those in pursuit of silverware, the season is relentless, with challenges everywhere you look. Arsenal boss Arteta would certainly confirm that following their clash with a tenacious Southampton side on Sunday.