Fulham’s Mexican striker Raul Jimenez (R) vies with Arsenal‘s English midfielder Declan Rice (C) throughout the English Premier League soccer match between Fulham and Arsenal at Craven Cottage in London on December 31, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AFP
Arsenal fell to a second straight loss with a 2-1 defeat at Fulham on Sunday, lacking out on a chance to finish the 12 months atop the Premier League desk.
Bukayo Saka gave Arsenal the lead after simply 5 minutes, however the guests had been toothless after that as Raul Jimenez equalized within the first half and Bobby De Cordova-Reid poked within the winner within the 59th.
Arsenal topped the standings at Christmas however enters 2024 in fourth place after this defeat adopted its first house loss of the season in opposition to West Ham on Thursday. A win at Fulham would have lifted Mikel Arteta’s group provisionally above chief Liverpool in a tightly packed top 4.
But the Gunners have received only one of their final 5 league video games and this was maybe probably the most listless efficiency in that stretch. Arteta can have to ponder whether or not to search for attacking reinforcements within the January switch window after his group struggled to create any high quality possibilities after its early purpose – even after switching to a again three with two strikers up entrance for the final 20 minutes. And it got here in opposition to a group that had misplaced its final three league video games by a mixed rating of 8-0.
“That was the worst performance of the season,” Arteta stated.
Gabriel Martinelli did the onerous work for the opener, operating with the ball from inside his personal half earlier than chopping into the realm and curling a low present towards the far publish that Bernd Leno might solely divert into the trail of Saka, who simply had to stick his foot out to flip within the rebound.
Fulham had not received within the final 26 Premier League matches during which it trailed relationship to October 2022 (22 losses, 4 attracts), however responded properly to going behind. The hosts had already missed two first rate possibilities to rating by the point Jimenez met a low cross from Tom Cairney and beat David Raya with a first-time effort within the twenty ninth. Jimenez marked his return from a suspension with a fourth purpose in his final 4 league video games — equaling his tally from the earlier 50.
Fulham continued to look harmful when going ahead De Cordova-Reid put the hosts forward after Arsenal failed to clear a nook and the ball fell to the winger to poke house from shut vary.
Saka had a chance to equalize within the 63rd when the ball fell to him within the space however he volleyed properly excessive. In truth, Arsenal did not have an effort on track within the second half till a scuffed cross from Saka in damage time that fell harmlessly to Leno. And that was regardless of striker Gabriel Jesus coming off the bench within the 67th to associate Eddie Nketiah up entrance as Arteta opted to play with simply three defenders.
Instead, Fulham got here nearer to a 3rd as Raya had to be at full stretch to cease a shot from Cairney within the 71st and Andreas Pereira smashed a free kick in opposition to the crossbar within the 87th.
