A much better performance from Saints at the Emirates, but individual errors again cost us dearly and although there were a lot of positives to be taken from the game, ultimately the same issues remain.
There were some eyebrows raised by the Southampton supporters who travelled up to North London when the team was announced to take on Arsenal.
5 defenders, 4 in midfield plus Ross Stewart up front, not too many people were that upset about this, but not too many either could work out what sort of formation that we would play.
There were a couple of surprises, Ross Stewart starting a game for the first time in the League and Ryan Manning who hasn't even been able to get in the match day squad this season, let alone the bench, suddenly coming in from nowhere.
There was clearly a spirit in the side, from the very start we were on the back foot, it was essentially 5 at the back, 4 sat in front of them and the lone Ross Stewart up front.
Sadly he would not be lasting very long, he was putting in the work, but an innocuous tackle saw him stay down and off he went with only 27 minutes on the clock.
Arsenal understandably dominated possession and strived to create clear cut chances, but Saints dug in and were resolute, in the first half Arsenal swarmed forward, but it was almost half time before they forced Aaron Ramsdale into making a save.
It only seemed a matter of time before a goal would come in the second half, but it wasn't Arsenal who scored it, after we lost possession Mateus Fernandes worked hard to win the ball back, surged forward and laid a ball through to Cameron Archer, who was pushed a little wide but then cut back in to fire a low shot into the far corner.
There were 55 minutes on the clock, most Saints fans were wishing it was 95 !
Predictably this roused Arsenal and sadly it didn't take them long to get back in it.
Anyone who watched Match of the day would have seen that it was highlighted how the Gunners had a plan to stop our possession game, they had too lines of press, one to close us down and push us into blind alleys and another to block any passes.
This was the case only 3 minutes after the goal, we needed to close things down, keep it tight, but Flynn Downes trying to surge forward found a pass forward closed down by Arsenal's second line of press and the first blocked his attempted sideways pass and within seconds the home side were back on level terms.
Arsenal were now going for the jugular perhaps we needed some fresh legs at this point, but no changes were made by Russell Martin and as we approached the last 20 minutes, tired legs led to tired minds and we left Martinelli free at the far post to fire home from close range, it was just 10 minutes between the Gunners first and second goal.
Now we reacted, off went Manning & Fernandes and on came Adam Armstrong & Tall Paul Onuachu and we seemed to be having a go, but although we hit the post and then the bar, it was more likely that Arsenal would get the next goal in the game.
With 3 minutes to go they made the game safe and sadly yet another error, this time Sugawara who swept up at the back and seemed to think he had enough time to run the ball out of defence just outside the six yard box, but his first touch was heavy and it went straight to an Arsenal man, Saka firing home from close range.
So what can we take from this performance, well first the fighting spirit, but that is no good if we keep making errors, often unforced, we still don't do the basics well enough to earn the right to start playing the difficult stuff.
On another day this could have been a rout, the home side had 29 attempts on our goal, but only 6 on target, we only had 8 attempts with just 2 on target.
The best stat for us was shots blocked, we got something in the way in 10 of the 28 attempts.
The real talking point will be Tall Paul, in fairness he put himself about a bit and you couldn't fault his effort, but it was clear that he is not very mobile, possession football is about passing and working hard to create openings, he is very much a forward that gets on the end of a ball into the box.
This is not to write him off, he could be a valuable asset to bring on in the closing stages of a game where we are chasing a goal or two.
So Russell Martin brought himself time, not just because it's an international break, but also due to the fact that the teams above us are still within touching distance, the situation is still retrievable.
But the next game is going to be crucial, we will take on Leicester and nothing less than a win is acceptable, if we were to lose then we would risk being cast adrift at the bottom, Ipswich are at home to Everton, so at least one of them will be picking up points and Palace go to Forest on the Monday.
We need to get a win under our belts and also close the gap between the clubs in mid table.
This game felt totally different walking out of the ground than our defeat at Bournemouth, but ultimately the scoreline was the same and the same issues occurred, we gave away at least two goals too cheaply through errors, we cannot keep doing so and hope to survive.
Something has to change, as the old saying goes, if you keep doing the same things then you get the same results, that is fine if you are Manchester City, bit for Saints it highlights the fact we are making the same mistakes time and time again, we don't clear the ball when we need to, even when there is no pass on because we have been closed down, we still try to find one that doesn't exist or is just plain suicidal to try.
The issue is now clear to see, we do not have a squad good enough to play possession football to the level the manager requires, there is no way to dress things up any different, every game sees us concede goals due to getting caught trying to pass the ball in tight situations, we are architects of our own downfall on far too many occasions.
Can Russell Martin modify his tactics ? no one is asking him to abandon them completely, just to tweak them so that we do the basics when required, that is the big question.
As I said something has to change, either the manager's approach to games or the manager himself.