Arsenal’s title ambitions suffered another blow as Mikel Arteta’s men dropped two points on the road at Fulham. The Gunners fell behind early to Raul Jiminez’s fine finish but battled back in the second half through William Saliba’s second goal of the week.
The visitors thought they’d stolen the win in the closing stages but VAR ruled out Saka’s header after substitute Gabriel Martinelli, who provided the cross for the England international, was adjudged to be offside. Having had the chance to close the gap on league leaders Liverpool to four points, it feels much bigger at six with the Reds having a game in hand.
Unable to call on Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhaes for the second game in succession, and with Oleksandr Zinchenko missing out due to a new fitness issue, Arteta reverted to the backline that finished Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Manchester United. Thomas Partey was asked to play at right-back, Jurrien Timber switched to the left and Jakub Kiwior continued to partner William Saliba. Jorginho came into midfield alongside Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, while Leandro Trossard replaced Gabriel Martinelli to provide guile off the left wing.
Despite the defensive reshuffle, Arsenal started brightly, dominating possession with crisp passing that forced Fulham to retreat deep into their half. The travelling fans sensed an early breakthrough when William Saliba rose to meet a corner, but he couldn’t steer his header on target.
Then, against the run of play, Fulham ruthlessly exploited Arsenal’s defensive frailty on the counter. Following a patient 20-pass build-up, the hosts struck with clinical precision. Alex Iwobi and Emile Smith Rowe combined neatly in midfield before Kenny Tete threaded a perfectly weighted pass behind Jakub Kiwior. Raul Jimenez latched onto it, surged into the box, and lashed a fierce diagonal shot past David Raya to fire Fulham into the lead. It was the fifth time in 11 games that Arsenal had conceded first – a worrying trend. ([GOAL 1-0](https://streamin.me/v/lu4a3mmg))
The Gunners continued to dominate possession after the restart but struggled to carve out clear chances. Bukayo Saka forced Bernd Leno into action with a corner punched off the line, while Declan Rice dragged a first-time effort wide after being played through by Leandro Trossard.
Fulham defended resolutely in a compact 5-4-1 shape, denying Arsenal space through the middle and frustrating Odegaard. It was left to Saka and Trossard to inject some urgency into the attack but both found it tough going. The Belgian whipped a cross to the back post that Saka couldn’t capitalise on but he did force a smart save from Leno later on after twisting Calvin Bassey inside out. For the most part, though, Anthony Robinson had the England international’s number.
With Rice narrowly missing a lunging attempt at Saka’s inviting cross late in the half, Arsenal went into the break trailing and in need of a sharper attacking edge.
After an early scare – Raya claiming a dangerous ball fizzed in by Robinson – the Gunners stepped up a gear. A Rice free-kick panicked the back-peddling Fulham defence and raised the pulses of the travelling fans before Bassey conceded a corner from another dangerous Saka cross. This time Arteta’s men capitalised.
Rice curled to the back post, Havertz, darting into space, headed across to Saliba who tapped home from close range. VAR took a long look at the Frenchman’s position and eventually deemed him onside courtesy of Robinson’s left leg. “Set piece again, olé, olé, olé,” sang the Gooners behind Leno’s goal who love a Nicolas Jover special. ([GOAL 1-1](https://streamin.me/v/u597q5wf))
Arsenal’s tails were up and Saka’s dancing feet created space for another ball that just evaded Rice’s head. A brilliant driving run by Timber ended with Trossard firing low at Leno. It was the Belgian’s last contribution as he was replaced by Martinelli. In response, Fuham replaced Smith Rowe – who had an underwhelming game – and Traore with Andreas Pereira and Harry Wilson.
A clever pass from Odegaard found Havertz with room to shoot but his cute attempt to beat Leno at his near post ended with the ball dribbling wide. The game drifted for five minutes before Partey squandered a golden opportunity to put the Gunners ahead. Completely free in the six-yard box, the Ghanaian headed another Saka corner wide.
At the other end, Raya made an unorthodox save with his right leg to keep out Pereira’s effort. It was Fulham’s first shot since their goal. With 17 minutes remaining, Arteta switched things up further, sending on Merino for Jorginho and Jesus for Havertz. After Rice tested Leno, Nwaneri was added to the mix at the expense of captain Odegaard.
The game was a frantic end-to-end affair, pockmarked by scrappy play and niggly fouls. Both sides sensed they could win it but the pressure was very much on Arsenal to do so. Martinelli’s frustration boiled over, and he was shown a yellow for dissent. The Brazilian had a smile on his face a few minutes later when he whipped in a brilliant cross that Saka headed home but after another long VAR review, he was deemed offside. The frown returned to Martinelli’s face. There were inches in it.
On the touchline, Arteta tried to gee up his players for five minutes of stoppage time. Yet another set piece afforded Rice the chance to pick out a man in blue but the wind seemed to catch his kick and the ball sailed out much to the relief of the home fans.