Two sides whose fates have already been sealed collide on the final day of the Premier League season on Sunday, as relegated Southampton host an Arsenal side who are practically guaranteed to finish second.
The Saints are safe in the knowledge that they will not go down as the worst Premier League side in history, and they are now simply focusing on rebuilding for 2025-26, potentially with Will Still at the helm.
Meanwhile, the Gunners need only draw on Sunday to stave off the threat of Manchester City and be sure of second place, although not even a defeat should be fatal in that regard given their superior goal difference.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two clubs.
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Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 107
Arsenal wins: 54
Draws: 30
Southampton wins: 23
A battle that has exclusively taken place in the top flight, FA Cup and EFL Cup, Arsenal and Southampton have pitted their wits against one another on 107 occasions in all tournaments, and the Gunners have won just over 50% of those fixtures.
Indeed, 54 victories have come Arsenal’s way, while the Saints have conquered their North London counterparts on 23 occasions, and another 30 clashes have ended in a share of the spoils.
Two of those stalemates actually came in two of the most recent three Premier League contests between the two clubs, as Arsenal had to come from behind to draw 3-3 at the Emirates in April 2023, a few months on from dropping points in a 1-1 St Mary’s draw.
Ex-Arsenal star Theo Walcott was among the Saints scorers in that six-goal Emirates spectacular, which put a fatal dent in the Gunners’ hopes of pipping Manchester City to the title, and Southampton also conquered Arteta’s side 1-0 at St Mary’s in April 2022.
As a result, Arsenal were surprisingly winless in three straight matches against Southampton, but they finally ended that barren run on home turf in October 2024, coming from behind to secure a 3-1 success over Russell Martin‘s men.
That represented a first triumph for Arsenal over the Saints since a 3-0 home success in December 2021, and only three of their last eight matches against the Saints have ended in victory.
Southampton have established a reputation as a bogey team for Arsenal in the 21st century, and they are not total strangers to Emirates victories either, having beaten the Gunners at their 60,000-seater home in the 2014-15 and 2016-17 EFL Cup competitions.
However, the South Coast side have never got the better of Arsenal in the Premier League at the Emirates, and not since 1987 – a 1-0 win at Highbury – have Southampton conquered the Gunners away from home in the top flight.
With 11 goals against the Saints, Arsenal legend Ian Wright is the highest documented scorer in this fixture, while Robert Pires, Dennis Bergkamp and John Radford all netted seven times for the Gunners against Southampton.
Last 20 meetings
Oct 05, 2024: Arsenal 3-1 Southampton (Premier League)
Apr 21, 2023: Arsenal 3-3 Southampton (Premier League)
Oct 23, 2022: Southampton 1-1 Arsenal (Premier League)
Apr 16, 2022: Southampton 1-0 Arsenal (Premier League)
Dec 11, 2021: Arsenal 3-0 Southampton (Premier League)
Jan 26, 2021: Southampton 1-3 Arsenal (Premier League)
Jan 23, 2021: Southampton 1-0 Arsenal (FA Cup Fourth Round)
Dec 16, 2020: Arsenal 1-1 Southampton (Premier League)
Jun 25, 2020: Southampton 0-2 Arsenal (Premier League)
Nov 23, 2019: Arsenal 2-2 Southampton (Premier League)
Feb 24, 2019: Arsenal 2-0 Southampton (Premier League)
Dec 16, 2018: Southampton 3-2 Arsenal (Premier League)
Apr 08, 2018: Arsenal 3-2 Southampton (Premier League)
Dec 10, 2017: Southampton 1-1 Arsenal (Premier League)
May 10, 2017: Southampton 0-2 Arsenal (Premier League)
Jan 28, 2017: Southampton 0-5 Arsenal (FA Cup Fourth Round)
Nov 30, 2016: Arsenal 0-2 Southampton (EFL Cup Quarter-Finals)
Sep 10, 2016: Arsenal 2-1 Southampton (Premier League)
Feb 02, 2016: Arsenal 0-0 Southampton (Premier League)
Dec 26, 2015: Southampton 4-0 Arsenal (Premier League)
Last 10 Premier League meetings
Oct 05, 2024: Arsenal 3-1 Southampton (Premier League)
Apr 21, 2023: Arsenal 3-3 Southampton (Premier League)
Oct 23, 2022: Southampton 1-1 Arsenal (Premier League)
Apr 16, 2022: Southampton 1-0 Arsenal (Premier League)
Dec 11, 2021: Arsenal 3-0 Southampton (Premier League)
Jan 26, 2021: Southampton 1-3 Arsenal (Premier League)
Dec 16, 2020: Arsenal 1-1 Southampton (Premier League)
Jun 25, 2020: Southampton 0-2 Arsenal (Premier League)
Nov 23, 2019: Arsenal 2-2 Southampton (Premier League)
Feb 24, 2019: Arsenal 2-0 Southampton (Premier League)
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