1 April 2025
Arsenal 2 Fulham 1
The pressure continues to build on Mikel Arteta’s side as they welcomed Fulham to The Emirates. Arsenal need to have a perfect end to the season and cannot afford to drop any points at all if they hope to overturn Liverpool’s twelve point lead at the top of the table. Psychologically, victory against The Cottagers could be massive as it would reduce the gap to single figures.
Nobody expected much from Marco Silva’s side in this London derby, this is a ground they have never won at all. Despite this, they made a positive start to this game. They were utilising the large pitch at The Emirates, passing it around and moving into space. There was no high tempo to their play but they were looking very comfortable.
As we have seen often this campaign, Arsenal had a lot of possession but did not seem capable to create any shooting opportunities. At best it was half-chances from distance that were being blocked by the committed Fulham defence. Things went from bad to worse for The Gunners when Gabriel fell to the floor clutching his hamstring. He had to be taken off which will be a great concern to Arteta with a Champions League quarter-final coming up.
Gunners’ fans like to lament their injury problems but this is just a reality of the modern game. Every side has a similar number of players who spend time on the sidelines. The only difference is the depth of quality of your squad. It has been there for all to see that there is a big drop-off at Arsenal when Arteta is not playing his strongest eleven.
The best chance the hosts carved out was when Rice did well out wide and crossed to the back post to find Nwaneri. He volleyed his effort into the ground but it was beaten away by Leno in the Fulham goal. It was the first time the Fulham keeper had really been tested. It was much better stuff from Arteta’s side, finally showing some penetration to their play.
Moments later, Nwaneri slotted a brilliant deft pass in behind the Fulham defence for Timber to run onto. As he headed towards the byline, he cut it back to Merino. With four defenders in front of him, he tried to get a shot away which took a massive deflection and wrong-footed Leno in the process. Arsenal were not complaining, as long as they led, they would take any kind of goal currently.
After the break, Fulham seemed to have more of a hunger about them in the final third. They pressed Arsenal and caused some errors before Jimenez found himself with a sight of goal. His shot was awkwardly saved by Raya, parrying it into the middle of the goal. Fortunately for the hosts, Partey was able to clear before Smith-Rowe could tap home.
Timber was having a good game for The Gunners, looking to have plenty of gas in the tank. It was another of his marauding runs forward that saw him exchange a neat one-two with Odegaard. The Arsenal skipper weighted his pass perfectly to put the full-back through on goal. He rifled a shot off at the near post but Leno stayed big and made an important block.
There was a huge cheer from home fans when Saka walked towards the touchline to come on. He replaced Nwaneri and immediately added some pace to their attacking play. Whether it was a pass to teammate or looking to take players on, everything he did was 100mph. He was putting the rest of the team to shame and immediately reconnected with Odegaard.
The understanding the two have between them offers such a threat for The Gunners. One such attack saw Martinelli whip a dangerous ball across the box. Odegaard seemed to get a flick on it but it was headed home at the back post by Saka. It seemed almost poetic that the returning winger was to get his name on the scoresheet as The Emirates erupted.
Mikel Arteta’s side have missed him so much, it will be a timely boost to the business end of their season if they are to stand any chance of testing Real Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final. Just as it was looking the hosts had put the game to bed, Fulham came alive in an attacking sense and started to ask questions of the Gabriel=less Arsenal.
Iwobi did well out wide, before lifting a cross over Raya to pick out Muniz at the back post. It should have been a goal but, somehow, the substitute managed to head wide of the target. Shocking miss. You felt that was the chance for Marco Silva’s side to really make this a nervy finish for the hosts. The Fulham striker stood with head in his hands.
Moments later, deep into added time, Sessegnon got away down the right. He squared a pass to Muniz, whose first-time shot took a deflection and beat Raya in the Arsenal goal. What could have been if he had scored his header earlier on as well. The Gunners held on for all three points, moving to within nine points of leaders Liverpool.
Did you enjoy this article? Please share to your social media. With one click you can help spread the word and make Solid at the Back the one-stop shop for all Premier League fans.