Arsenal.com
Morning all.
Both clubs in Manchester dropped points yesterday, Utd were beaten at home by Nottingham Forest while City drew with Crystal Palace away from home. Liverpool’s game against Everton was postponed because of the weather. Four Premier League fixtures take place today including Totts v Chelsea and of course, Fulham v Arsenal. A win today would close the gap behind Liverpool to just four points.
Fulham away is a tough old fixture for many a club but, they’ve suffered a couple of hefty defeats at home during the last month or two. Aston Villa beat them 3-1 back in October but the real shock was Wolves battering them 4-1 just a couple of weeks ago. This month, they took a point off Totts in north London before beating Brighton at Craven Cottage in the week. Brighton were unlucky really though as a mistake from their goalkeeper gifted Fulham their opening goal and an own goal gave Fulham a 2-1 lead before Iwobi scored his second late in the game.
Under Silva, Fulham have gained a reputation for being a balanced team which is both disciplined and flexible in the way they play. They press high, they move around like ants, creating space for a pass or when out of possession, hassling the opposition. They’re strong defensively and quick on the break.
Last season, we managed to take just a point off Silva’s team which came at The Emirates. On New Year’s Eve, at Craven Cottage, despite Bukayo Saka scoring just four minutes into the game, we ended up losing 2-1. Jimenez scored Fulham’s equaliser before half-time before De Cordova-Reid took advantage of a corner we didn’t clear in the second half. It was one of those games when we bossed the possession stats but couldn’t convert more than one of our 13 shots. In fact only 3 were on target.
This defeat followed a loss against West Ham and a draw at Anfield. The festive season in 2023 wasn’t very kind to Arsenal.
Fulham made four permanent signings back in the summer, one of which was Arsenal fans favourite, Emile Smith-Rowe who has done well since moving across London. Reiss Nelson made the switch to Fulham too but on a loan deal. He’s ruled out for this one of course but in any case, he’s injured, as is their central defender Andersen. They had a couple of big departures though with Palhinha moving to Bayern Munich and Tosin Adarabioyo joining Chelsea for free.
Arsenal’s Adrian Clarke:
Fulham are a very well-rounded side who will press us, pass neatly through the thirds, and look to attack whenever possible. After 14 rounds of league games, they have had one more shot than us, a stat which outlines how they are a side that wants to play on the front foot. Including corners, they have made more successful crosses than any other team, and in open play they also lead the way with 52.
Andreas Pereira whips excellent corners and wide free kicks into the box, while in general play it is left-back Antonee Robinson who supplies the best ammunition from wide areas. The USA international’s duel with Bukayo Saka is one to watch, as each will try to push the other back.
Smith Rowe is impressing in the No.10 role within their 4-2-3-1 shape. He has brought great quality on the ball, and breaks into the box as often as possible, scoring three Premier League goals.
If there is a weakness it is possibly that they lack natural defensive midfielders. In truth that hasn’t held them back, as their defensive stats remain strong. That said, the loss of key centre-back Andersen to injury is a blow.
As for Arsenal’s squad for today, Mikel Arteta was again cagey about who is or isn’t fit. Hopefully both Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori will have recovered for this one. Not that Jakub Kiwior or Oleksandr Zinchenko put much of a foot wrong against Man Utd.
Mikel Arteta did say that he wants Arsenal to be the best at everything in the game:
We want to be the kings of everything. at set pieces, the best in the world, at high press, the best in the world, attacking open spaces, the best in the world. We want the best atmosphere in the stadium, and be the best at everything. We want to be the best at everything. we want to have the best academy, the best individual development for players, recruit the best players and have the best coaches. That’s the aim.
Love it, that’s just what fans need to hear from their manager as it’s what you and I want too. Arsenal to be the best in every department of the club both on and off the pitch. Whether or not he achieves it is unlikely because perfection means to never drop a point in any game or lose a tie in any competition but reaching such heights should always be the aim in sport. Settling for second best simply doesn’t appear to be in Mikel Arteta’s managerial DNA.
I bet he’s loved reading the comments about Arsenal being similar to Stoke City on set-pieces because it’s a compliment rather than ridicule. On set-pieces we are strong, very strong but that’s where the Stoke City comparison starts and ends.
There are a few headlines about how Arsenal are out for revenge after last seasons results and I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment. I hope we can go to Fulham today and start fast. Score early in the game and more than once. Be strong, disciplined and ruthless in front of goal.
Catch up in the comments.