Arsenal’s failure to defeat Fulham recently feels like a setback. We should have dispatched the Cottagers as a form of retaliation for last season.
Last season we failed to beat them; at the Emirates, we played out to a 2-2 draw, then they beat us at Craven Cottage. We failed to defeat them either at home or on the road, which resulted in us dropping 5 points against them and missing the league title by 2 points.
This continuing series of failures against our small local rivals must confound all our followers around the world, from the local Gooners putting on their pennies in the local betting shops or on the internet to those who use real money gambling in New Zealand, who would usually expect a game against Fulham to be a guaranteed winner on paper.
Failing to win (drawing 1-1) was frustrating. Our Gunners had a glorious opportunity, and they’ve wasted it. There is still a long way to go, 23 match days to be exact, but winning the league title has now become harder.We could have been four points ahead of Manchester City, who also drew 2-2 with Crystal Palace, and four behind Liverpool, but now we’re just one point ahead of City and six points behind the Reds, who have played one fewer game.
After our victory over Manchester United, we have dedicated the last few days to defending our brilliance in set pieces, trying to convince critics that it is not the only thing we excel at.
Despite this, we must acknowledge that our attacking play was insufficiently effective, as it was against Manchester United. In fact, Fulham’s tactics exposed us.
They ganged up on our creative players Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard. They left us to rely on set pieces. It is disheartening that our attack primarily focuses on fouls and corner-baiting; we need goals from open play.
And will we get these goals when against Fulham we clearly, in possession, had no movements or interchanges with an intent to open and disrupt their deep defensive block? We lacked deep-dwelling runners, and our possession was static.
We believed Martin Ødegaard’s return would activate our attack, but after that Fulham game, we ought to have a contingency plan for his off days. At this point, I believe Arsenal really needs an attacker who can force an attack, such as Nico Williams or Viktor Gyokeres, or in fact any clinical striker at all!
