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Jorginho sends Mikel Arteta message after Arsenal suffer fresh title race setback

Jorginho has sent a message out to Mikel Arteta and Arsenal after Sunday's disappointing 1-1 draw at Fulham.

The Gunners were looking to close the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool, who did not play this weekend after Storm Darragh postponed the Merseyside derby against Everton. Arsenal could have gone within four points of Arne Slot's team who have lost just once all season.

But Raul Jimenez's early goal at Craven Cottage put Arteta's side on the backfoot before William Saliba's second-half equaliser from a corner. The Gunners thought they had snatched a late winner after Bukayo Saka headed home but VAR adjudged Gabriel Martinelli to be offside in the build-up.

Arsenal have now dropped down to third in the top flight table after Chelsea's thrilling 4-3 win at Tottenham later on Sunday. Arteta's team are six points behind Liverpool after 15 games.

And Jorginho has reacted on social media to the disappointing result. The Italian midfielder was replaced in the 74th minute by Mikel Merino.

"Tough ground to win but we keep pushing," he said on Instagram. "Thank you for the amazing support as always."

When asked at his post-match press conference why Fulham are so hard to break down, Arteta said: "They are really well organised. This is football. When we played them at home last year the margin was huge for us but they scored two goals from three or four chances. That’s the quality of every opposition. You cannot cry about it.

"That’s the beauty of this league too. The beauty of this team too is how they are able to play today, even in these circumstances and against good opposition. I’m really happy for that."

On if it was a missed opportunity with Liverpool not playing this weekend, he added: "We really wanted it. We have good momentum and it was a really crucial moment for us to go for it.

"We certainly did. We certainly tried and we were so close to doing it. Unfortunately we didn't manage to achieve it."

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