Report: Stewart on target as Saints suffer late defeat on final day

After keeping out Manchester City in their penultimate home game, Saints looked on course to frustrate another Champions League outfit as Stewart rose to head home a 56th-minute corner and cancel out Kieran Tierney’s first-half opener.

It was an emotional moment for the striker, who has endured such rotten luck with injuries since signing from Sunderland at the start of last season.

But just as Stewart’s goal looked like earning Saints a point, Arsenal substitute Martin Ødegaard sent an arrowing low drive past Aaron Ramsdale to take maximum points in the 89th minute.

Simon Rusk made five changes to his Saints side, handing a first senior start to 18-year-old Jay Robinson after the Academy graduate showed a few glimpses of his talent as a second-half substitute at Everton last time out.

Stewart, who also looked lively after coming on at Goodison Park, was among those to be drafted in along with Charlie Taylor, who was making his first start since September.

Yukinari Sugawara and Lesley Ugochukwu completed the quintet, as Jack Stephens, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Tyler Dibling missed out through injury, while James Bree and Joe Aribo dropped to the bench.

That meant a first squad appearance for another 18-year-old from the youth ranks in the form of centre-back Jayden Moore.

Newly-announced Men's First Team Manager Will Still was in attendance at St Mary's

Arsenal were already assured of second place after seeing off Newcastle last weekend, making five changes themselves, with traditional talismans Bukayo Saka and Ødegaard among the substitutes.

That did not deter the Gunners from making a fast start. With new Men’s First Team Manager Will Still watching on from the stands, Saints might have fallen behind on three occasions inside the opening seven minutes.

Gabriel Martinelli headed straight at captain Ramsdale before crossing for Mikel Merino to head just over, while Raheem Sterling sent a curling left-footed shot narrowly wide with Ramsdale rooted to the spot.

When Saints did spring forward from an Arsenal corner, Kamaldeen turned defence into attack in the blink of an eye to win the hosts a corner of their own, before Sugawara sent a sizzling shot goalwards that struck Declan Rice, prompting penalty appeals for handball that were soon dismissed after a swift VAR check.

By the midpoint in the first half Saints were holding their own, having weathered the early storm, but Merino rose well once more to meet another Martinelli cross, this time clipping the bar with his far-post header.

Then Thomas Partey let fly with a skidding 25-yard drive that Ramsdale handled immaculately.

But Saints were growing into the game, and Stewart threatened to score his first Premier League goal on the half-hour mark. Typically diligent work from Mateus Fernandes saw him win the ball back on the edge of the Arsenal box and send in a cross that the striker header back across goal, but it dropped wide of the far post as David Raya could only stand and watch.

Ross Stewart heads wide from Saints' best first-half chance

Arsenal pushed for an opener with half-time approaching, as Tierney’s ball over the top was controlled in an instant by Martinelli, only for Ramsdale to make his best save to date with an outstretched left boot to deny his former teammate.

From the resulting corner, Zinchenko fired fractionally wide via a deflection, but the deadlock breaker duly arrived three minutes before the interval, as Ben White’s overlapping run and cross was converted with a poacher’s finish by Tierney, who was actually operating as a centre-back on what looks likely to be his final appearance for the club.

With one added minute at the end of the half, Kamaldeen, Saints’ liveliest player, saw a shot blocked and loop into the air before he volleyed the dropping ball into the side-netting.

Ramsdale was forced to make his first save of the second period eight minutes after the interval from Ethan Nwaneri’s 20-yard shot, before Stewart won Saints a free-kick in prime shooting territory.

The Northam Wall gave Fans’ Player of the Year Fernandes the big build-up, but he tamely struck the wall, before Robinson burst through and stung the palms of Raya, denying the youngster a fairytale moment.

But when Fernandes delivered the resulting corner, Stewart had his moment. Stepping away from the goal to meet the cross, the big Scot craned his neck superbly to connect with a perfectly-placed header, guiding the ball beyond Raya’s full-length dive to beat the keeper high to his left.

It was a goal two seasons in the making for a man who has endured a torrid time with injuries since arriving at St Mary’s in the summer of 2023.

Stewart rises to score his first Saints goal and level the scores

Arsenal responded by forcing Sugawara into a last-ditch clearance from Martinelli’s cute touch following another White cross – a carbon copy of the move that opened the scoring – before the visitors sent on Leandro Trossard and Saka in a bid to reclaim the lead.

Another crucial block was required to keep out Zinchenko, this time from makeshift centre-back Taylor, before Simon Rusk refreshed his frontline by introducing Paul Onuachu and Cameron Archer either side of a sharp save from Ramsdale to deny Rice, as Saka nodded in the rebound from an offside position.

Robinson also departed, as one Academy graduate made way for another with the arrival of Will Smallbone in his place, while Joachim Kayi Sanda also arrived off the bench for his home debut.

With stoppage time approaching, Arsenal substitute Ødegaard had the final say when he was afforded too much space to unleash a fierce 25-yard drive into the bottom corner to clinch victory for the visitors.

Southampton: Ramsdale (c), Sugawara, Wood, Taylor, Welington, Downes, Ugochukwu (Kayi Sanda 86), Fernandes, Robinson (Smallbone 79), Stewart (Onuachu 70), Kamaldeen (Archer 79).

Unused substitutes: McCarthy, Moore, Bree, Manning, Aribo.

Goal: Stewart (56’).

Arsenal: Raya, White, Kiwior, Tierney (Trossard 63), Zinchenko (Lewis-Skelly 70), Partey, Merino, Rice (c), Nwaneri (Ødegaard 75), Sterling (Saka 63), Martinelli (Havertz 71).

Unused substitutes: Neto, Jorginho, Henry-Francis, Kabia.

Goals: Tierney (43’), Ødegaard (89’).

Referee: Darren Bond.

Attendance: 31,289.