Southampton held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw on Sunday to become only the second Premier League side this season to take points from the Londoners.
The result means the points difference between the Gunners and second-placed Manchester City now stands at 2, both having played 11 games.
Granit Xhaka gave Arsenal the lead after 11 minutes with his second goal in as many games, thumping the ball first time into the roof of the net from a Ben White cross.
After the goal, the visitors kept on pushing and had chances to score more, but they could not capitalize on their efforts.
The game went into the break 1-0, and it looked to favour Arsenal’s push for a fifth straight league victory.
Mikel Arteta’s side came from the break looking to find more goals, but Southampton began to impose themselves on the game.
The hosts were rewarded with an equalizer in the 65th minute after Stuart Armstrong finished off a neat pass from Mohamed Elyounoussi.
Southampton held on to secure the point, despite pressure from Arsenal.
“I have a feeling that we lost two points, especially with the way we started the game and the chances we had,” Arsenal’s official website quoted Arteta as saying. “When you look back at the chances, we should have come out on top.”
“But we have to blame ourselves. I think the way we played in the first half and in the second half was very different, especially what we did in ball possession. We should have more courage, more consistency and be more reliable in ball possession and dominate the game better when we have total control of it,” he added.
On his part, Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl praised his side’s efforts, noting that they could even have won the game.
“We showed in the second half how competitive we are. In the first half, we were lucky to be only one goal down, but as long as you are only one goal down you are still in the game. Then you see what happens when you believe and put a lot of effort and passion in,” he said.
“It was amazing to watch the turnaround and mentality of the lads today because, in the end, we had them on the ropes and we could have won it.”
