Arsenal squandered the opportunity to move four points behind Liverpool at the Premier League summit as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham on Sunday afternoon.
The Gunners fell behind early on at Craven Cottage but dominated the remainder of proceedings, hauling themselves level through William Saliba’s 52nd-minute equaliser. Bukayo Saka’s late header was ruled out by VAR for offside, forcing Arsenal to share the spoils on the banks of the Thames.
Mikel Arteta’s side moved into second place ahead of Chelsea’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur, yet are six points adrift of league-leading Liverpool, who have played one game fewer.
How the game unfolded
Every Fulham player touched the ball in the buildup to Raul Jimenez’s opener as the Cottagers strung 23 passes together. However, all of them were inside the hosts’ own half before Kenny Tete slid the first decisive ball along the outside of Arsenal’s shuffled backline.
When Jimenez gathered possession and steadied himself before picking out the bottom corner, it was Fulham’s second touch in Arsenal‘s half during the opening 11 minutes.
The Gunners were only briefly knocked out of their stride, denying Fulham another shot throughout the remainder of the first half. However, the visitors offered little threat of their own in open play. As has so often been the case this term, Arsenal had to rely upon a set-piece goal to get a foothold in the game.
Kai Havertz span towards the back post, firing a header back across the six-yard box for Saliba to stab in his second goal of the week. Unlike his accidental effort against Manchester United, the Frenchman knew more about this finish.
Thomas Partey had a glorious opportunity to nod the visitors in front from another dead ball in the 70th minute. Adama Traore, who had been deployed as a human shield by the hosts at defensive set pieces, watched on from the substitutes’ bench while Partey had a free run on to an inviting delivery only to thump his effort wide.
Bukayo Saka made no mistake with a stooped header in the 88th minute, wriggling behind Antonee Robinson to nod in what he thought was the winning goal. Arsenal’s players and coaching staff had already untangled themselves from their mass embrace by the time VAR spotted that Gabriel Martinelli had needlessly strayed offside before swinging in the cross for Saka.
Check out the player ratings from Fulham vs Arsenal here.
Arsenal’s set-piece supremacy has reached rarified heights. Midway through the second half, shortly after Saliba fired in the club’s eighth dead-ball goal of the league campaign, the travelling away crowd chanted: “Set piece again, ole, ole, ole”.
While many bitter and beaten opponents question the legality of Arsenal’s physical approach from these carefully choreographed scenarios, the Gunners deserve praise for maximising the fine margins. However, the importance of set pieces has swollen out of proportion as Arsenal increasingly struggle to create from open play.
Faced with Fulham’s compact block which morphed into a 5-4-1 off the ball, the north London outfit scuttled timidly around the outside of the white shirts, time and again failing to pierce the middle of those massed ranks. Even Saka’s disallowed header emanated from a hopeful ball swung into the box.
William Saliba was the only starter at Craven Cottage who would also line up in Arteta’s first-choice back four. Jurrien Timber was shoehorned into the left-back berth while Jakub Kiwior filled in for the injured Gabriel. Ben White’s knee surgery forced defensive midfielder Thomas Partey onto the right side of a defence, leaving Arteta with a hodgepodge rearguard of disparate parts.
Nevertheless, Arsenal were mightily impressive at the back. Fulham may have scored with their first shot – which was a well taken finish from an unfavourable angle – but they only had one more effort of any kind throughout the remaining 80 minutes. It’s the first time since May that Fulham have been limited to just two shots in a top-flight contest.
The collective work off the ball from the regular starters in front of that unfamiliar backline was crucial to this parsimonious display. Fulham’s creative lynchpin Emile Smith Rowe was almost entirely snuffed out on his reunion with the Gunners.
Sunday’s contest proved how modern Premier League football is increasingly a game of fine margins. Fulham left-back and captain Antonee Robinson had that point drilled home.
The tireless defender’s trailing left foot narrowly played Saliba onside for Arsenal’s equaliser. Had it not been for a few centimetres on the opposite flank, Robinson’s lax patrolling of the back post would have cost Fulham any points as Saka snuck in to meet Martinelli’s disallowed cross.
Saka’s illegal effort was the only shot he had after the 37th minute. After attracting interest from Liverpool last term following a string of convincing performances up against Mohamed Salah, Robinson did his best to nullify arguably the second-best right winger in the world. The only chances of note which Saka created were from corner kicks.
If the ever-improving 27-year-old continues his upward trajectory, Robinson may have plenty more suitors next year.
On his 100th appearance as Arsenal captain, Martin Odegaard ended up handing the armband to Saka with more than ten minutes remaining while his side were still chasing the game.
Odegaard’s seamless reintroduction into the starting XI after two months sidelined by a sprained ankle has been extraordinary. Right from his first game back, when he created Gabriel Martinelli’s opener in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea, the Norwegian schemer has scarcely skipped a beat.
Yet, on his fifth start in 15 days, Odegaard finally seemed to slip off the pace. Flitting in and mainly out of the contest, the dainty dinks and fancy flicks that so often tease apart the opposition’s rearguard didn’t come off.
