Mikel Arteta admitted he was frustrated with his side’s litany of missed chances as their scintillating form hit a stumbling block against Southampton, recording just their first draw of the campaign.

Arteta’s Arsenal have been rampant at times this season, but struggled to convert the opportunities they crafted against a Saints side that made life very difficult for the Premier League leaders at St. Mary’s.

The Gunners had taken the lead through Granit Xhaka after just 11 minutes, but were pegged back in the second half by Stuart Armstrong’s strike just after the hour mark as the home side came away with a well-earned point.

‘Yes, I am frustrated,’ Arteta told Sky Sports. ‘Especially with the big chances we created and the way we played first half. We should have been in a different position.

‘But credit to Southampton, the way they came out in the second half we weren’t as clean and consistent on the ball as we were in the first half. We conceded a lot of long throws, set plays and it disrupted our game.

‘Despite that, I think we created the two biggest chances in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to win the game, unfortunately.

‘We couldn’t put the ball into the net. I think we had the big chances and the best situations to put them away and we didn’t. In the Premier League, one goal is never enough.

‘You had the feeling they were putting us under pressure, we gave away too many of the balls, especially unforced errors which didn’t give us the continuity we needed to win the game.’

Arsenal came into the game after a 1-0 win over PSV in the Europa League in midweek, their 13th victory from 15 games in all competitions.

But they were unable to maintain the four point advantage over second in the table Manchester City that they held coming into the weekend, and Arteta will see Sunday’s result as two dropped points rather than one gained.

The Gunners have now scored only once in each of their last four outings, having scored three in four successive games before that, and the Spanish manager will be keen to put an end to that trend before the World Cup break.

And he told BBC Match of the Day of his side’s need to get on the scoresheet more often, adding: ‘We had three or four good opportunities and should have scored more. We needed two or three goals, but only scored one.

‘It’s disappointing. We created enough chances but couldn’t put the ball away.

‘It’s a lesson because we wanted to win again. They put us under more pressure through direct play in the second half, and we were struggling.’

And star striker Gabriel Jesus – who has scored five goals and provided five assists in 14 games in all competitions since his summer switch from City – echoed the sentiment.

The Brazilian told Sky Sports: ‘I think we can increase the level again, as a team and as an individual. We have to concentrate more, focus more without the ball.

‘We go home today a little upset because of the way we played, we should have scored more goals and then we win the game.’