Shocking, sickening, substandard and spiritless, Arsenal were destroyed by an army of S’ at the Anfield battlefield on Saturday afternoon. Not even Arsenal’s biggest pessimists would have predicted the riot that occurred in Liverpool by Skrtel, Sterling and Sturridge in the key top-four clash of the weekend.

What happened?

The first half performance by the Gunners was lacklustre and uncharacteristic, the players barely able to put a pass together in the first 30 minutes. Not since the 8-2 Manchester United loss has a game looked so beyond a team’s reach - as Patrice Evra would claim, it was “Men against boys.”

Arsenal player ratings

I said after the Crystal Palace game that a storm was coming. It seemed that nobody told the Arsenal players, as they started the match in what has been a customary lethargic fashion in recent weeks.

If you're going to run into a tornado, you have to prepare yourself accordingly. Arsenal didn't and were blown away in the first 20 minutes.

Wojciech Szczesny - 5 – He didn't do a lot wrong on any of the goals, and made a couple of solid saves. To be hyper-critical, he could have done a little better on the 1st and 4th goals.

Bacary Sagna – 4 – He has been in superb form this season. But this was badly short of his normal standard. Maybe he was expecting to face Luis Suarez, rather than Raheem Sterling, as the England youngster ran him a merry dance throughout the contest.

Arsenal came through in what was potentially a tricky fixture with a patient performance against a disciplined Crystal Palace. This was not an easy game for The Gunners, and it is one they will be extremely pleased to have overcome given the magnitude of their February fixture list.

Sticking to task against disciplined Palace.

The first half performance that Tony Pulis’s Crystal Palace side gave at the Emirates was everything that we have come to expect from the Welsh manager. Defensively well organised, firm, committed and at times cynical tackling, Arsenal were left frustrated. The Gunners however didn’t allow themselves to feel irritated and in the second half there persistence was the difference.

Arsenal player ratings

The now customary 2-0 win was in effect again (for the 11th time this season). Crystal Palace were awkward opponents, but Arsenal ended up having just enough quality to overwhelm the Eagles to send the Gunners top of the table (for now).

Wojciech Szczesny - 7 – His kicking remains a concern, but the Pole's overall level of performance remains strong. And his save from Cameron Jerome at 1-0 up probably stopped 3 points becoming 1. It's these moments that can make the difference at the end of the season.

Bacary Sagna – 7 – Another solid display from Sagna. He stopped Yannick Bolasie and Jason Puncheon make much headway down his side of the pitch, and was a willing option for his teammates in the first-half.

Per Mertesacker – 8 – Mertesacker's form dipped slightly in the past couple of weeks, but he was back to his best today. He made a series of important tackles in 1 vs 1 situations when Arsenal were in danger of being exposed on the counter.

Arsenal player ratings

This was truly a game of two halves, as Arsenal generated a first half performance that will be hard to top as their worst of the season so far. The Gunner’s somehow weren’t prepared and could have easily been two or three down by half-time. Despite an early second half resurgence, on this performance Arsenal were lucky to gain a point tonight.

In spite of achieving five straight Premier League victories, the performances have not always been convincing and against lively opposition in Southampton tonight, it is clear that Wenger’s men are not performing as they would like to.

Wojciech Szczesny - 6 - No doubt the Pole will be extremely disappointed in himself for Southampton’s first goal, letting in at his near post. Didn’t let it bother him though as he grew in confidence throughout the game, producing some excellent sweeper keeping and a flurry of saves in the last ten minutes, meaning we could at least leave St. Mary’s with a point.