This was the kind of end-of-season match where there was almost as much interest in what was happening in the stands as on the pitch. Banned from the touchline after picking up a suspensionagainst Newcastle last week, Mikel Arteta was seen deep in conversation with co-chair Josh Kroenke throughout as Kieran Tierney signed off with a goal before he returns to Celtic and Martin Ødegaard broke Southampton’s hearts with a late winner.
Summer recruitment plans were surely the main topic of conversation for Kroenke and Arteta, whose selection of Raheem Sterling for only the sixth time in a Premier League gamesince he joined on loan from Chelseawas perhaps another reminder of the Arsenal manager’s request for more firepower this week. If they need any inspiration to take the final step after being confirmed as runners-up for a third straight year, the success of Renée Slegers’ women’s team inbecoming European championsagainst all the odds on Saturday night should provide it.
Planning for life in the Championship is already well advanced forSouthampton, who described Will Still as one of the “brightest young coaching talents in Europe” when his appointment was confirmed before kick off. The 32-year-old who cut his teeth in Ligue 1 was also pictured sitting just in front of the former prime minister Rishi Sunak and could not contain his delight when Ross Stewart scored a deserved equaliser after half-time. While they couldn’t quite hang on for a point, an impressive first senior start for the 18-year-old winger Jay Robinson hinted at the direction will probably head in after a disastrous campaign under Russell Martin and then Ivan Juric.
So far has Sterling’s stock fallen over the past nine months that the travelling fans were even threatening to take drastic action if he managed to break his goal duck in the league here. “If Sterling scores, we’re on the pitch,” they sang. He almost granted them their wish after an opening period when Southampton couldn’t get out of their own half but was once again otherwise a shadow of his former self. Aaron Ramsdale saved from Gabriel Martinelli and Mikel Merino should have hit the target with a header before Sterling curled a shot just past the post in the sixth minute.
It summed up Southampton’s luck this season that Yuki Sugawara’s shot was heading for the top corner until it struck Declan Rice’s hand but the referee, Darren Bond, and the video assistant referee turned down pleas for penalty. Merino hit the crossbar from another cross before Ramsdale did brilliantly to deny Martinelli when the Brazilian was clean through on goal. It was left to Tierney – unusually for him operating in central defence – to finally break the deadlock when he touched home Ben White’s cross from close range to cue a punch of the fist from the Scotland international and a chorus of appreciation from the away end.
Yet Southampton have shown renewed heart under the interim manager, Simon Rusk, despite being relegated weeks ago and they levelled 10 minutes after the break. Robinson had forced David Raya into an excellent save with a jinking run and, from the resulting corner, Stewart outjumped everyone to steer his header past theArsenalgoalkeeper. That goal means Raya will share this year’s Golden Glove award for the most clean sheets with Nottingham Forest’s Matz Sels.
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Tierney was withdrawn to another round of applause as Sterling’s afternoon also came to an end. But having survived an onslaught when Ødegaard, Bukayo Saka – who needed treatment on his ankle after slipping late on – and Kai Havertz were unloaded off the bench, Ramsdale could do nothing to stop the Norwegian’s drive from outside the area in the final minute of normal time to put the final nail in the coffin of a season no Southampton fan will remember fondly.