Despite a brief comeback, Arsenal were forced to settle for a point against Fulham after João Palhinha’s late equaliser which left the Emirates stunned.
A draw certainly isn’t the result Mikel Arteta would have wanted and here are five things we learned from the game…
Gabriel left out again
Over the last couple of seasons, Gabriel Magalhães has been a mainstay in the Arsenal backline. However, three games into the new campaign and the Brazilian centre-back is surpisngly yet to start a game for the club, and it seems that tactical reasons may be the thinking behind Gabriel’s new home on the substitutes bench. The signing of Declan Rice now means Arsenal can play with an extra attacker as they did in the opening games, therefore the build-up phase is crucial and defenders with strong ability on the ball are needed – one of Gabriel’s weaker areas. Arteta said ahead of the game that Gabriel “understands the reasons” behind why he is being left out and urged him to prove him wrong by working his way back into the team. Time will tell if that proves to be the case.
Arsenal’s new system causing headaches
As mentioned, the addition of Rice means there are new tactical ideas being used at Arsenal this season with an extra attacking player included at the cost of a defender. This means there are often three defenders across the backline, instead of four, and when there were four against Fulham, it was Thomas Partey occupying the right-back spot – a position the midfielder isn’t exactly used to which caused a few problems in the first half with the Gunners giving the ball away cheaply too often.
Another new addition in Kai Havertz has started every game so far in an attacking midfield role but has failed to impress thus far. Arsenal and Arteta have plenty of work to do to better implement the changes to the side that we’ve seen so far this season.
Fulham missing Mitrovic
Despite taking the lead through Pereira inside the first minute, and scoring another to salvage a late point, it’s painfully clear that there is an Aleksandar Mitrovic shaped hole in the Fulham attack and it certainly won’t be filled by Raul Jimenez. Replacing Mitrovic, who left for Saudi Arabia side Al Hilal after scoring 14 goals for Fulham last season, was always going to be a difficult task. It was a departure that left Fulham shaken and also left Jimenez as the one to replace the Serbian, after joining from Wolves for £5.5m in the summer.
However, after two games of the Mexican leading the line it has become abundantly clear that Fulham’s number 7 can’t be solely relied upon this season. There is a startling lack of confidence in the striker, from his goal threat to his overall presence up top, and Fulham struggled to build anything at the head of the pitch when they needed to relieve the Arsenal pressure. With no goals in 26 games for Jimenez, it doesn’t look like that drought will end any time soon.
A tale of two different halves for Saka
Against Fulham, Saka set a new club record for 83 consecutive Premier League matches played. However, it didn’t start as he would have hoped. For the first goal of the afternoon, the England international was the culprit, giving the ball away to Pereira who converted his chance to make it 1-0 to Fulham. The following minutes of the first half were frustrating for Arsenal and Saka, who failed to make any sort of impact on the game, wavering from his stylish, clinical best.
Despite this, the constant quality of the winger prevailed, and showed itself in the 70th minute when Arteta needed a hero from the penalty spot after Kenny Tete’s rash challenge took down substitute Fabio Viera inside the area. Disruption followed as players and the referee delayed proceedings but to Saka, none of it mattered, keeping his mind clear before dispatching coolly into the bottom right corner. It was the spark that lit the flame, Eddie Nketiah scoring moments later to put Arsenal in front. It was soon after that Calvin Bassey was sent off, receiving a second yellow, that smiles around the Emirates were bright, despite the clouds above. The Gunners were well on their way to three points until Fulham had other ideas…
Early problems again for Arsenal
It’s the third time in nine matches that Arsenal have fallen behind in the opening stages at the Emirates Stadium. This time, a Saka mispass which sent Pereira through on goal was the reason for Arteta’s side falling behind. Arsenal dominated much of the game, with their typical relentless pressure suffocating Fulham until they finally cracked in the second half. But starting from a goal down so often is not making it easy for Arsenal, and woeful defending left Palhinha free to side-foot home Harrison Reed’s corner and haul Fulham level.
