ARSENAL eased past Southampton with goals from Nicolas Pepe, Bukayo Saka and Alexandre Lacazette after an early Stuart Armstrong strike put the home side ahead, as the Gunners moved into eighth place, five points off West Ham in fourth spot.

On a rain-lashed evening on the south coast, Mikel Arteta’s side won their first match from a losing position since they beat Liverpool last July — and their first comeback in any competition against a Premier League side since reversing a deficit against Chelsea in the 2020 FA Cup final.

The victory at St Mary’s on Tuesday evening was also revenge for the north Londoners, after Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side knocked the holders out of the world’s oldest knock-out tournament at the weekend.