A couple of weeks ago Arsenal had the opportunity to effectively end Manchester United's title challenge while definitively proving that this season marked a turning point for their own fortunes. Overawed by the occasion however, and missing the increasingly influential German giant Per Mertesacker, the Gunners quietly capitulated at Old Trafford; instead of a possible 11 point gap being opened between the two clubs, it was closed to the significantly smaller figure of 5. Having seen off those young pretenders from Liverpool, as well as beating Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund in their own back yard, it was the old enemy that returned to haunt Wenger's nightmare - Robin Van Persie, who remains the ghost at Arsene's feast even now, scored the only goal of the game, breaking Arsenal's incredible sequence of results away from home.

The truth is that a loss for Man Utd would have had far more severe implications for Moyes et al. than defeat did for Arsenal. If the Gunners win anything this season it will be because they continue to put away the Crystal Palaces and the Fulhams of the league, not because they're picking up 3 points at places like Old Trafford. However it's difficult to ignore the fact that the fixture a fortnight ago was Arsenal's best chance to win there since they did so some 7 years ago now. United's great weakness, its midfield, has become our great strength, so seeing players like Ramsey and Özil give the ball away so meekly was troubling.

However time, tide and domestic football wait for no man (except when there are those tiresome international fixtures to play) so inevitably there was a chance for redemption almost immediately. The next opponents were everybody's new second favourite team Southampton, who had already cemented their apple cart upsetting credentials by beating Liverpool at Anfield, as well as leaving Old Trafford with one more point than Arsenal managed. A tricky fixture to navigate, then, against a team that conceded just 5 goals all season prior to Saturday's fixture.

Giroud suppresses his instinct to laugh at Boruc long enough to open the scoring

So it proved, at least in the early stages which saw the visitors enjoy a healthy amount of possession without really threatening the Arsenal goal. Southampton's aggressive, Dortmund style pressing in the final third is impressive up close, and just as in the Dortmund tie, the Gunners struggled to move the ball smoothly from defence to midfield. It took over a quarter of an hour for a meaningful attack to be mounted, although when it did come it was almost delightfully rounded off by a sublime Jack Wilshere chip which, if it had struck the post 2 or 3 inches to the right, would have opened the scoring. Likewise Aaron Ramsey's impudent flick which caught the outside of the same post a few minutes later. Just when it begun to seem like it was going to be one of those days, Arsenal were gifted the opener in the most unlikely fashion. It was the Saints goalkeeper Artur Boruc, who, a few weeks earlier, was deceived by a gust of wind (happens to the best of us) which took Asmir Begovic's long punt downfield clean over his head; this time there was no tricksy weather conditions to blame, just his own indecision, as he dallied on the ball long enough for Giroud to get a tackle in and poke the ball into an empty net.

Southampton, who would almost certainly settled for a point at kick off, were suddenly forced to come out in search of the goal that would restore parity. They almost got it too when a sliced clearance allowed Jay Rodriguez to attempt a half volley from the edge of the area, although Szczesney was equal to it.

The second half played out not unlike the first, with Arsenal struggling to maintain a real sense of rhythm; highlights were limited to the return of Theo Walcott, whose brief cameo saw him overhit a potential assist in the final third and put a shot about a foot wide from the edge of the area, as well as a deserved penalty given for a blatant shirt pull on Mertesacker by Jose Fonte. Giroud did the honours to give the scoreline a slightly unearned air of respectability. Southampton didn't deserve much from a game where they rarely tested the opposition goalkeeper, although 2-0 flattered an Arsenal team that struggled to find any cohesion for long stretches.

Either way, Szczesney earned another clean sheet while he and his back four continue to stake a pretty reasonable claim to be numbered among the best defensive units in the top flight this season. Walcott's return meanwhile should be met with cautious optimism. The big positive is that his pace stretches games and gives the team another outlet - as depressing as it may be, a long ball over the top to a fleet footed winger can be as effective as a hundred one touch passes around the box, and it's nice to have that in our locker. However I worry that Walcott, as one of the big names and highest paid players at the club will force his way into the starting line up in games for which his style is demonstrably ill-suited, simply by virtue of his status at the club. Will he accept the status of super-sub for long stretches of the season? Unlikely. Even so, his return gives our attack some much needed depth, so let's welcome him back with outstretched arms for the moment.

If Arsenal beat Marseille on Tuesday and Dortmund fail to beat Napoli then we move on to the Champions League knockout stages - not shabby given the fact that Arsenal would be progressing from this year's 'group of death'. This is followed by a trip to Cardiff, who just did everyone a favour by earning a last minute point against our nemeses from Manchester today. Tougher challenges await but if we can go into the tricky Christmas fixture list four points clear of the chasing pack (or maybe even more) then we're sitting pretty.