Southampton 4-0 Arsenal ...Arsenal wapewa zawadi ya Boxing Day

Just when Arsenal's old uncertainties seemed to have been banished, they came rushing back at St Mary's on Boxing Day. Presented with the chance to go top of the Premier League against an out-of-form Southampton team, they blew it spectacularly.

Their war on their own insecurities had been going so well, too. Amid the anarchy that has reigned in England's top flight this season, Arsenal have been the only one of the big four to radiate a sense of purpose and progress. That was scattered to the winds on the south coast.

When Leicester lost at Liverpool earlier in the day, Arsenal knew victory would take them to the summit of the division again but they were overwhelmed by a team that had been starting to look over its shoulder at the relegation zone. Southampton had not won since the beginning of November but Arsenal came to them gift-wrapped.

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Southampton's Cuco Martina celebrates after notching a spectacular opener against Premier League title chasers Arsenal on Boxing Day

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Martina lashes home a curling effort with the outside of his right foot as Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud watches on unable to get a block in

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Southampton midfielder Victor Wanyama jumps on team-mates Jose Fonte (centre) and goalscorer Martina during the first half of the clash

Mystifyingly tepid, infuriatingly ineffectual and unforgivably careless, Arsenal produced a performance of such mediocrity that their own fans were streaming towards the exits before the end. Southampton, particularly two-goal Shane Long and Victor Wanyama, played some fine football but this was a night when Arsenal shrunk from their task.

This 4-0 defeat did not just leave Arsenal in second, it posed wider questions about their prospects this season and renewed concerns that their squad might not have the depth to cope with a sustained title challenge. Arsenal had a chance to stamp their authority on the title race here but instead, the battle at the top looks as chaotic and unpredictable as ever.

Arsene Wenger was undismayed after the match. He conceded Arsenal were not sharp enough in their challenges but blamed the result on a combination of Southampton's physicality and the incompetence of the officials. 'The first was offside, the second was a free kick and the third was a goal kick,' Wenger said.