EPL: Southampton force Arsenal to draw as Leicester climb out of relegation with away win

Southampton forced Arsenal to their first draw of the season in a game that ended 1-1 at the Saint Mary’s Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The league leaders scored first through Granit Xhaka’s composed finish in the 10th minute, but Stuart Armstrong ensured Southampton got a point with his 65th-minute equaliser.

After Xhaka gave the Gunners the lead, Southampton responded more offensively as they searched for an equaliser. Still, all they had to show for their aggression were corner kicks which the Arsenal defence rebuffed.

Gabriel Martinelli’s curling effort was deflected off Duje Caleta-Car for a corner in the 33rd minute, as Arsenal attempted a quick counterattack.

They could have gone into the interval two goals up if Gabriel Jesus had been more composed when sent through one-on-one against Gavin Bazunu, who produced a save to keep the Saints in it.

Just after the hour mark, Mohamed Elyounoussi created the assist for a Saints’ leveller. The forward’s pass sliced through the duo of Takehiro Tomiyasu and Gabriel Magalhaes before reaching Stuart Armstrong, who rolled the ball past Aaron Ramsdale.

Joe Aribo had a shot saved by Ramsdale in the 69th minute. Ten minutes later, Martin Odegaard’s goal was ruled out because the ball had gone out of play before Ben White pulled it back for Odegaard.

Despite the draw, Arsenal lead the EPL table with 28 points, two points better than Manchester City.

Big winsElsewhere, Aston Villa hammered Brentford 4-0 just days after Steven Gerrard was sacked. It was the Villains’ first victory in October.

It was also history for Villa as interim manager Aaron Danks became the first coach to win by four goals or more in his first match.

The hosts were fast to pounce on the Bees as they scored three goals within 14 minutes of play. Leon Bailey scored in the second minute, and then Danny Ings added a brace in the seventh and 14th minutes, respectively.

Ollie Watkins would not be left out as he added the fourth for the hosts before the hour mark.

At Elland Road, Fulham came back from a goal down to beat Leeds United in a five-goal thriller.

The hosts drew the first blood in the 20th minute from Rodrigo Moreno’s headed finish. However, the Cottagers came back into the game six minutes later, as they grabbed an equaliser through their top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic, who headed in from an Andreas Pereira cross.

The game was tied until the 74th minute when Bobby Reid scored and ten minutes later, Willian added the third. Crysencio Summerville poked a finish past Bernd Leno in the first minute of added time. The match referee Anthony Taylor sought VAR counsel before the goal was given. There was no fightback for Leeds as pressure mounts on Jesse Marsch.

Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City was unstoppable at the Molineux Stadium, where they beat Wolves 4-0. Wolves went into the game seeking solace after their mid-week defeat to Crystal Palace, but the Foxes heaped more sorrow on them as Steve Davis continued his tenure on the hot seat.

Youri Tielemans and Harvey Barnes scored in the first half before James Maddison, who was assisted by Jamie Vardy, added the third. Meanwhile, Vardy scored his first league goal of the season in the 79th minute, off a great assist from Timothy Castagne. with the three points and four goals, Leicester lept up the table to 16th place while Wolves tumbled down to 19th on the table.

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