Straight
Christmas was a bad one for Arsenal, who went into the game top of the league and ended their three-game festive run with a 2-1 defeat at Fulham, which saw them drop to fourth place in the Premier League and in danger of five points behind the lead. The fiasco deepens the fallout from the setback three days earlier against West Ham at the Emirates and rocks the closest Premier League in 22 years. His head hasn't been so constricted since New Year's Eve 2001. Then Arsenal, Newcastle, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester United were only on three points after 20 games. Now Liverpool, Aston Villa, Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham do it, except Liverpool and City have a game in hand. The Reds do it on New Year's Eve against Newcastle, who they host at Anfield before the league break as the Championship is suspended to make way for the third round of the hallowed FA Cup next weekend. There they meet Arsenal, who they can leave five points behind in the league.
2
Leno, Castagne, Robinson, Calvin Ughelumba, Adarabioyo, Alex Iwobi (Andreas Pereira, min. 71), João Palhinha, Willian (Issa Diop, min. 79), Cairney (Reed, min. 92), Bobby Reid (Harry Wilson, Min. 79) and Raúl Jiménez
1
David Raya, Ben White (Gabriel Jesus, Min. 67), Gabriel, Jakub Kiwior (Takehiro Tomiyasu, Min. 45), William Saliba, Declan Rice, Kai Havertz (Reiss Nelson, Min. 76), Odegaard, Eddie Nketiah, Bukayo Saka and Martinelli (Trossard, Min. 67)
Goals 0-1 min 4: Bukayo Saka. 1-1 min 28: Raúl Jiménez. 2-1 min 58: Bobby Reid.
referee Josh Smith
Yellow cards Cairney (Min. 65), Calvin Ughelumba (Min. 76), William Saliba (Min. 86), Raúl Jiménez (Min. 92) and Leno (Min. 95)
“It was our worst game so far this season,” summed up Mikel Arteta. “Our mentality has to get better. When you're at the top, you can't make mistakes. “The last two defeats are unacceptable,” said midfielder Declan Rice. The Gunners staged a painful comeback on the banks of the Thames. Scoring at the start of a game isn't always the best news. Arsenal got there after a shot from Martinelli was deflected by goalkeeper Leno towards the feet of Saka, who pushed it into the net. But the goal activated Fulham and subdued Arsenal, overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of a rival fueled by pressure from Palinha and Cairney, their two hard-working midfielders. Up front, Willian and Iwobi, two former Arsenal players, acted as pitchers for the hyperactive Mexican Raúl Jiménez. Fulham controlled the game, they did it with passion but also with football and made their rivals suffer, who suffered particularly on the flanks where White and Kiwior, two footballers with central defender DNA, seemed overwhelmed.
Fulham had already equalized after half an hour when Jiménez's defensive intensity led to a counterattack, allowing defender Bassey to slide into midfield. There was little reaction from Arsenal, who tried to replace Kiwior with Tomiyasu at half-time, but even then they continued to be shaken. A scuffle following a corner kick was resolved with a point-blank shot by Bobby Decordova and Arsenal were already at a disadvantage when the skies opened to a downpour and Fulham gathered at the top of their area to cover spaces. Arsenal's plan was essentially to look for Saka to generate options on the right. And the debate about whether the team needs a world-class striker to match his performance is being reignited. Against Fulham, neither Nketiah, who was in the starting line-up, nor Gabriel Jesus, who had almost half an hour, offered solutions in the penalty area. No Arsenal player is among the Championship's top 15 goalscorers. Saka, a winger, is the team's top scorer and celebrated his sixth goal at Craven Cottage. Nketiah has five, Gabriel Jesus has three.
Fulham were able to get to the finish line before the end. Andreas Pereira sent a free kick directly onto the crossbar. Previously it was David Raya who denied Cairney the goal. Arsenal have only picked up one point in their last three games. They have won just one game in their last five games and fall to fourth place, one point ahead of Tottenham, which halted the extraordinary run of Bournemouth (3-1), who arrived in north London as the best team in the league. Premier in the last eight days.
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