Football: Arteta unhappy as Arsenal's winless run goes on

Arteta reacts during the match against Southampton. PHOTO: AFP

LONDON (REUTERS) - Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was disappointed with his team's 1-1 home draw against Southampton on Wednesday (Dec 16), although he acknowledged it was a decent result after they had central defender Gabriel sent off on the hour.

Arsenal last won a Premier League home game against bottom team Sheffield United on Oct 4 and having lost their last four at the Emirates stadium, they nearly snatched a winner when Rob Holding hit the crossbar in stoppage time.

Having stretched their winless league run to six games, however, Arteta rued Gabriel's red card for a second bookable foul when he hauled down Theo Walcott, Southampton's scorer and a former Arsenal player.

"Very disappointed because in that moment I was thinking to change the centre back straight away - we didn't even have time to do that," Arteta told the BBC.

"In the end we got a point that considering the circumstances we have to accept.

"The boys came out like we did three days ago, we scored a really good goal, on top in the game, and again we shoot ourselves in the foot."

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuettl was happy enough with a result which took his side third in the table "I am OK with a point," he said.

"Teams have respect for what we are doing and how we are playing. We have shown what we have learned in the past and that is to play our game and we get more and more confident playing in possession."

Walcott said he believed Southampton have become a different side.

"Arsenal are in a difficult time but in the end it is disappointing to take a point and it shows how far this club has come," he said.

"We were fantastic, we did everything we wanted to do in the game. We just wanted to concentrate on our strengths, we know how good we are as a unit."

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