LONDON: Danny Welbeck’s second goal of the game gave Arsenal a 3-2 win on Sunday and cost Southampton a draw they would have deserved in their struggle against relegation from the Premier League. Southampton’s defeat kept them in the bottom three, three points behind Crystal Palace but with a game in hand. Shane Long gave them the lead after 17 minutes, nipping in ahead of defender Shkodran Mustafi. Arsenal equalised 11 minutes later through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, playing a one-two with Welbeck. Welbeck then cut inside onto Alex Iwobi’s pass to give Arsene Wenger’s side a barely-deserved halftime lead. Substitute Charlie Austin equalised a minute after coming on but with nine minutes left Welbeck headed in Iwobi’s cross. In a wild last few minutes Mohamed Elneny and Southampton’s Jack Stephens were sent off in separate incidents. Arsenal remain 13 points behind the top four, their hopes for the remainder of the season resting on the Europa League, in which they take a 4-1 lead to CSKA Moscow for Thursday’s quarter-final second leg. With that game in mind, Wenger made seven changes, giving a league debut to 18 year-old Reiss Nelson. Perhaps unsurprisingly, his team looked disjointed, especially early on. Irish international Long’s goal was only his second in almost 50 games for club and country but even before that the visitors made all the chances. Published in Daily Times, April 9th 2018.