Arsenal were forced to settle for a point after having a late winner chalked off by VAR in a frustrating afternoon for the Gunners as they drew 1-1 with Fulham.
Mikel Arteta was again without both Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori for the trip to West London, and Oleksandr Zinchenko was also absent after picking up an injury following the win over Manchester United. Jakub Kiwior once again partnered William Saliba in the heart of the defence, Thomas Partey moved to right-back and Jorginho returned to the XI. Leandro Trossard also started in place of Gabriel Martinelli at left-wing.
Arsenal started the game on the front foot and dominating possession and nearly scored from yet another corner in the opening minutes through William Saliba, but the Frenchman’s header was wide. The Gunners only other notable chance in a low-key first half came from Bukayo Saka but his low shot was pushed out by Leno.
Fulham found the lead on the 11th minute when striker Raul Jimenez got in behind Jakub Kiwior and fired a low strike past David Raya into the far corner. The goal was well worked from the home side after Jimenez brought down a long ball from Bernd Leno but it was too easy from an Arsenal point of view.
Mikel Arteta’s team found an equaliser when Saliba turned home Kai Havertz’s pass from another Declan rice delivery. The German headed back across the corner and Saliba was there to turn the ball home. The defender looked offside in real time however he was confirmed to be just onside following a VAR check. The goal gave Arsenal the confidence boost they needed, and they should have took the lead when another corner from Rice found the head of Thomas Partey, however the ball went wide when it looked certain to score. As the time ticked on it looked more and more like it would not be Arsenal’s day. However, it looked they had found a winner in the 90th minute when Saka headed home Gabriel Martinelli’s cross, however VAR disallowed the goal due to a narrow offside against the Brazilian.
The decision meant the points were shared, leaving Fulham satisfied and Arsenal disappointed. Mikel Arteta’s team have a big week coming with two home games, the first of which is a return to UEFA Champions League action versus AS Monaco.
Player Ratings:
David Raya: 6 – Had nothing to do bar pick the ball out his net
Thomas Partey: 5 – Looked shaky at times and should have scored
William Saliba: 8 – Once again Arsenal’s best player and got another goal
Jakub Kiwior: 5 – Didn’t defend well enough for Fulham’s goal
Jurrien Timber: 6 – Saw a lot of the ball and did ok
Jorginho: 6 – Same as Timber, didn’t do anything wrong and went about his business ok
Declan Rice: 7 – Once again such a dangerous set piece deliverer
Martin Odegaard: 6 – Similar to Utd, the captain can do better
Bukayo Saka: 6 – Similar to Odegaard, Saka can do better than what he showed. His finish well late on was good despite it being disallowed
Kai Havertz: 5 – One of the German’s poorer games in a while, didn’t have much of an impact and didn’t take his chance when it came
Leandro Trossard: 5 – Same as Havertz. Came into the XI but didn’t take his chance