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Andy Ha

Bukayo Saka moment straight after Aubameyang's goal proves Rio Ferdinand was right

Arsenal ended their recent run of home defeats with a battling 1-1 draw against Southampton on Wednesday evening.

Mikel Arteta's side had been aiming to arrest their recent run of alarming results, including a 1-0 loss to struggling Burnley at the Emirates.

Their task was not made any easier with the visit of in-form Southampton, who were looking to briefly go top of the table with a win in north London.

And it looked as if Ralph Hassenhuttl's side would do just that, after former Gunners winger Theo Walcott opened the scoring in the first half, latching onto a pass from Che Adams and applying a dinked finish past Bernd Leno.

Mikel Arteta press conference after Arsenal 1-1 Southampton

The Gunners responded in the second half, with Bukayo Saka instrumental for the equaliser.

The England international picked up the ball outside the Southampton box and evaded several challenges before Eddie Nketiah slid Aubameyang in to score.

Saka's individual piece of skill looked like it would be the springboard for Arsenal to go on and search for a winning goal, but Gabriel was shown a second yellow card and the Gunners were forced to end a second straight match with 10-men.

Despite his age, Saka has firmly established himself as one of Arsenal's key players under Arteta this season, and his winning mentality was summed up by his reaction after Aubameyang's goal.

Whilst his teammates ran to the Gunners captain to celebrate, the teenager can be seen going straight to fetch the ball out of the net, with his desire to score a winner evident.

The teenager's actions comes after Rio Ferdinand previously hailed his talent, and urged Arsenal to build the club around him.

After the winger signed a new deal at the Emirates in the summer, Ferdinand told BT Sport: "I think Arsenal need people with the right attitude, right characters and people that want to be at the club.

"Looking at his statement, he buys into the philosophy, and he wants to move forward with the club.

"I would build the club around him, around players like Willock. The badge means something to these boys. They need to move forward together."

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