Ward-Prowse tells Southampton what they must do after Arsenal draw

The St Mary’s outfit missed a chance to climb off the bottom of the Premier League table after Arsenal scored two late goals to draw 3-3 on Friday evening.

The result follows points taken against Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal already this campaign – with south coast rivals AFC Bournemouth up next.

With the teams also fighting relegation still to play this weekend, Saints are not just three points adrift of safety with Thursday’s clash with Cherries looking huge.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the Arsenal game, Ward-Prowse said: “A great game to play and incredible atmosphere and you can definitely feel a positive feeling here.

“We took our chances really well and we knew they'd come on in the second half. It's a good point to come here, but we are disappointed not to take all three.

"It's a massive blow, but we have to take a lot of positives from it and I was surprised to see eight minutes at the end, a strange amount to be added on. But we have to defend better.”

He added: "We lost our identity a bit and Ruben has definitely got that back on track with the high aggressive press. I think we tired towards the end and we came up against a world-class side.

"We need to follow it up with good performance and good results. We always get good points against the so-called good teams but need to follow it up in following games."

Saints have been beaten by Nottingham Forest, Wolves, Leeds United and West Ham United already in 2023 - while the opposition were in 19th. 

"There is still a lot of football. We've got to keep believing," Ward-Prowse concluded, however. 

Saints host AFC Bournemouth at St Mary’s on Thursday night with the Cherries already nine points clear of their counterparts ahead of playing this weekend.

Ward-Prowse and the squad then visit Champions League-chasing Newcastle United on Sunday and face relegation rivals Nottingham Forest following that.