Fulham 2-1 Arsenal (Jimenez 29, Decordova-Reid 59′ | Saka 5′)
CRAVEN COTTAGE – It has been an unhappy Twixmas for Arsenal with back-to-back defeats to West Ham and Fulham putting their title bid at risk of being snapped in two.
The Gunners led the Premier League table on Christmas Day but two bruising London derbies later and they have been knocked down to fourth behind Liverpool and Manchester City who have games in hand. They are only one point above Tottenham. Life comes at you fast. “Our worst performance of the season,” was Mikel Arteta’s analysis.
In truth, his side have toiled for much of this campaign and routinely unconvincing displays have been interpreted in one of two ways.
The first, more charitable reading, was that the regularity of their late comeback victories was a sign of enhanced mental fortitude that could carry Arsenal further than last year. Once it began to click, so the theory went, they could become unstoppable.
The second, more pessimistic view, was that the fine margins would only work in their favour for so long and that luck would eventually run out. Arsenal made a habit of winning tight matches; now they are losing them. The Gunners are now 10 points worse off than at the same stage last season.
Arsenal faltered but Fulham were magnificent. The home fans must have feared the worst when Bukayo Saka put the visitors in front after just five minutes, given their team’s nightmarish run of form featuring a pair of 3-0 defeats either side of a 2-0 loss across the festive period.
It came from a counter-attack executed at breakneck speed. David Raya bowled the ball out to Gabriel Martinelli who raced upfield as though he had been passed a baton in a 4x100m race. The Brazilian’s cross-shot was palmed into the air by Bernd Leno and bounced into the net off Saka’s big toe.
It was the perfect start for the Gunners after their midweek misery against West Ham but one that they failed to build on. “We didn’t generate enough today, our rhythm wasn’t good enough in attack and defensively we were second best in every action,” Arteta said.
It was stark how quickly panic and indecision flooded into their opponents, but Fulham deserve plenty of credit for their reaction to going behind.
William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes struggled to contain Raul Jimenez as he continued his remarkable rejuvenation. Alex Iwobi, deemed expendable by Arsenal, played like a man possessed. Joao Palhinha snapped at ankles and roared after blocking a Saka shot late on. Calvin Bassey was immense.
But Jimenez was the star. Over three years on from that career-threatening head injury he suffered against Arsenal, the 32-year-old is back to his best. A rare football feelgood story in 2023.
Arsenal failed to heed two warnings of his renewed threat. Jimenez tested Raya’s handling with a crisp, cushioned side-footed volley with his first effort and blazed over the bar from a corner with his second, before eventually converting the third.
Tom Cairney’s cross zipped through a narrow passageway in the Arsenal box to find his teammate careering into the box like a Mexican wrestler diving into the ring to score.
It was an expertly crafted goal, but Fulham had far less work to do to score the second. A corner pinballed around the six-yard-box before dropping to Bobby Decordova-Reid to lash past Raya. It was a goal steeped in nervousness, Gabriel swiping a panicked clearance off a stationary Takehiro Tomiyasu amid a mass of white shirts.
The floodgates opened as Arsenal attempted their comeback, a torrential downpour clearing the first few rows of the Johnny Haynes stand. But Fulham came closer to scoring the game’s fourth goal with Andreas Pereira leaving the woodwork wobbling with a venomous free-kick after Saliba had hauled Harry Wilson to the ground when arguably the last man.
There was no late salvage job for Arsenal this time. A year of sunny promise has ended under a gloomy cloud, raising fresh questions over what next year may bring.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/MGz2FdH
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