Martin Odegaard’s 89th-minute thunderbolt ensured Arsenal ended their Premier League campaign on a high, sealing their second-place finish with a 2-1 win over Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium.
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Kieran Tierney marked his final appearance for Arsenal in style, opening the scoring just before half-time with a smart finish from Ben White’s centre.
Despite dominating possession, Arsenal failed to build on their lead, and Southampton equalised after the break, courtesy of a towering Ross Stewart header in the 56th minute.
But with the match ebbing towards a draw, Odegaard rifled home from distance to ensure the Gunners signed off with a victory that ensured they finished as Premier League runners-up for the third consecutive season.
Arsenal end the season with 74 points, one more than Manchester City, while Southampton finished 10 points adrift at the bottom.
How the match unfolded
Mikel Merino missed an early chance for Arsenal, heading narrowly over the bar, before Southampton pleaded for a penalty for a potential handball by Declan Rice. Referee Darren Bond waved away their appeals, with his on-field decision upheld after a VAR review.
Gabriel Martinelli soon picked out Merino for another good opening, with the Spaniard crashing his header off the top of the bar. Martinelli then wasted a chance of his own, firing straight at Aaron Ramsdale from inside the box.
But Arsenal got their opener in the 43rd minute, when an unmarked Tierney burst ahead to calmly steer White’s clever near-post cross home.
Southampton came out with greater intent after the break and were rewarded 11 minutes into the second half, when Stewart rose to head in Mateus Fernandes’ corner.
Arsenal responded with sustained pressure but the hosts held out until the death, with Charlie Taylor heroically blocking Oleksandr Zinchenko’s long-range strike before Bukayo Saka had a goal ruled out for offside, with the decision confirmed following a VAR review.
However, Odegaard eventually spared Arsenal’s blushes by firing a stunning 25-yard strike into the bottom-right corner with stoppage time looming.
Saints go marching out
Sunday’s match kicked off just hours after Southampton confirmed that Will Still had been appointed as their new manager ahead of next season’s Championship campaign.
The Saints will undoubtedly be disappointed with the way their Premier League season has gone, and they looked unlikely to go out on a high as they produced an uninspired first-half performance.
Kamaldeen Sulemana was a constant outlet on the wing, leading several counter-attacks, but the hosts failed to record a shot on target before the break.
The start of the second period was a different story, with Sulemana and Jay Robinson leading an energetic Southampton charge forward before Stewart drew them level with a fine header.
However, Arsenal's quality told from then on as they upped the tempo and penned Southampton back. Odegaard’s late strike ultimately resigned the hosts to a 30th Premier League defeat of the season.
Saints are the first team in Premier League history to lose that many matches in a single campaign, but they will hope Still is the man to lead a promotion push next season.
Tierney's fond farewell
Having sealed UEFA Champions League qualification with a 1-0 win over Newcastle United last weekend, Arsenal came into the final matchday looking to clinch the runners-up spot.
Arsenal have endured a whirlwind campaign in which they have gone from title contenders to top-five doubts, but they ended the season on a positive note as Mikel Arteta gave several fringe players a chance to impress.
Tierney, a fans' favourite, was among them as he played his final game for Arsenal before returning to boyhood club Celtic, a move which was confirmed earlier this week.
The Scot enjoyed a fitting farewell, breaking the deadlock and generally impressing at centre-back, where he was called upon to disrupt a fair few Southampton breakaways.
Stewart did peg Arsenal back in the second half and a familiar shadow appeared to fall over the visitors, with Martinelli squandering an excellent chance as Yukinari Sugawara cleared his effort off the line.
In the end, it was Odegaard who rescued the result. His late strike sealed a win that brought some relief at the end of a season that promised plenty for the Gunners but ultimately saw them end as runners-up for the third campaign in a row.
Club reports
Southampton report | Arsenal report
What the managers said
Simon Rusk: "Out of the seven games I've had [as manager], there have been positives in there. We were really close to taking a point off the Premier League runners-up. We can be really proud of our overall display and hopefully that's a good platform going into next season."
Mikel Arteta: "We wanted to finish with that positivity, that good atmosphere and vibe. We had to say goodbye to a few players and I think they deserved that to happen in a nice environment."
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Key facts
Southampton have become the first team in Premier League history to suffer 30 defeats in a season, and indeed the first team to lose 30 matches in a 38-game top-flight campaign.
Arsenal have finished second in the Premier League for the third consecutive season. It’s the fifth time in top-flight history a team has been runners-up three years in a row, and Arsenal are the first side to have done it twice (also 1998/99, 1999/00, 2000/01).
Arsenal’s top scorer in the Premier League this season was Kai Havertz with nine goals – it’s the first time since 1923/24 the Gunners haven’t had a player score 10+ league goals in a campaign.
