Arsenal held 1-1 by Fulham in pursuit of Liverpool
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Arsenal's William Saliba celebrates after scoring against Fulham in their Premier League clash.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – With English Premier League leaders Liverpool not in action this past weekend because their match at Everton was postponed due to bad weather, Arsenal had the chance to close the gap on the Reds.
But Mikel Arteta’s men failed to take full advantage following a 1-1 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage on Dec 8.
The Gunners headed into their match on 28 points, seven behind Liverpool, and have now shaved off just one point, albeit having played a game more as well.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard told Sky Sports: “We dominated most of the game... It’s frustrating not to win. We didn’t do enough today. We have to learn from that and straight back in for the next one.
“We have to focus on ourselves. We don’t care about the other teams (in the title race). It’s a very long way to go. We’ve said hundreds of times we have to keep going game by game.”
Termed the “corner kings” of late owing to their set-piece prowess, Arsenal nearly scored in the fourth minute from that when William Saliba was unmarked in the box but somehow his header went just wide of the post.
The visitors had much of the possession in the early stages, but it was Fulham who surprisingly took the lead against the run of play in the 11th minute.
Kenny Tete played a through ball which found Raul Jimenez, and the Mexican striker reacted quickly to fire a close-range shot into the bottom left corner of goalkeeper David Raya’s net.
According to Opta statistics, Arsenal have not kept a clean sheet in their last six Premier League away games, which is also their joint-longest run during Arteta’s time in charge.
They pressed hard to find the equaliser, with winger and star man Bukayo Saka crossing the ball, taking a corner and a free kick all in the span of six minutes, but to no avail.
In the 24th minute, Declan Rice unleashed a shot from the edge of the box, but it went just wide.
The home side hardly threatened and it was the Gunners who were far more superior in their attacking play.
Shortly before half-time, Saka charged ahead with a brilliant run, skipped past two defenders but Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno made a great save when he pulled the trigger.
Arsenal’s equaliser finally came following the interval, when Saliba scored with a shot from inside the box in the 52nd minute after a headed pass from Kai Havertz.
The goal – which came from yet another corner kick – stood after a video assistant referee (VAR) check for offside, prompting huge celebrations from the Gunners.
Since the start of 2022-23, Arsenal have scored 36 league goals from corner situations, according to the BBC. It is at least 10 more than any other side in this period – the next best is Liverpool with 26.
There was another dangerous corner in the 70th minute, but the unmarked Thomas Partey’s header went wide of the Fulham right post by just a few centimetres.
The Gunners pressed on in search of a winner and the impressive Rice nearly fed substitute Gabriel Jesus with a ball over the top of the defence in the 76th minute, but Leno reacted well to intercept in windy conditions.
Arsenal thought they had scored the winner with just a minute left in regulation time via a goal from the lively Saka, but VAR deemed that there was an offside in the build-up play.
In the end, Arsenal had to share the points, much to Arteta’s disappointment.
