Arsenal 2-1 Fulham
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League on Saturday night after a hard fought win over London neighbours Fulham.
The Cottagers went ahead through Aleksandar Mitrovic, early in the second half, and the hosts replied through Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard. And the winner came, five minutes from time when Gabriel, whose howler let Mitrovic in for Fulham’s goal, scrambled home the winner.
The Premier League 2022 betting odds have brought Arsenal in as third favourites to win the title and Fulham are outside the bottom three in the relegation stakes. And on the evidence of this game that makes a lot of sense.
Highlights of the game
Odegaard has been in inspirational form, and he almost created a goal in the opening minutes when he robbed the Fulham defence before slipping Gabriel Jesus through on goal but former Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno just beat the Brazilian to the ball. Then Odegaard and Jesus linked up to set up Granit Xhaka but the Swiss midfielder fired wide.
The Gunners have multiple goal threats, and here at SBOTOP we backed them to be ahead by the break, and their best chance of the opening half hour fell to Bukayo Saka who tried to lift his shot over Leno but the keeper armed the ball away. Odegaard continued to set the tempo while Jesus put the Fulham defence under pressure with his pace and clever footwork, and he won the free-kick which led to Saka’s chance.
As Arsenal pressed Jesus had the last chance of the half but Fulham defended well and blocked his effort. 0-0 at the break and the Gunners, knowing they needed a win to retake their top spot, came out in the second half all guns blazing. Jesus crossed for Gabriel Martinelli but his header went straight into Leno’s arms and then the Fulham keeper frustrated his former team twice in a minute, parrying a fierce shot from Odegaard and then holding on to an effort from Jesus.
And then, unbelievably, Fulham scored…and it was a moment Arsenal defender Gabriel will try to forget.
Arsenal attempted to play the ball out of defence and Gabriel collected a chipped pass in the middle of the penalty area. He took a bad touch and Mitrovic pounced, robbing him of the ball and sliding it past Aaron Ramsdale and into the net.
The Gunners responded and it was captain Odegaard, who had been superb throughout, who levelled with a shot from the edge of the box which took a slight deflection to beat Leno.
Incredibly, Mitrovic almost hit back immediately with a bullet header which Ramsdale saved and, as the game became more stretched, Martinelli tested Leno with a low drive at the end of a jinking run at the Fulham defence, and then Eddie Nketiah fired a shot narrowly wide.
Ten minutes to go and it was all out attack as Martinelli squared for Nketiah and his shot went straight down Leno’s throat, and then Martinelli curled an effort inches wide. And finally the big goal came as Gabriel redeemed himself. A corner swung in and the centre back challenged Leno; and when the ball broke free he fired it into the empty net and the stadium erupted.
Fulham weren’t done and Ramsdale was forced into a reaction save when Nathaniel Chalobah met a cross with a first time volley, but the Gunners held out for a vital win to maintain their 100 per cent record.
Key statistics
Arsenal had plenty of possession in the first half, 73 per cent, and they were winning the shot count by eight to four, but the hosts only managed one attempt on target in the first 45 as the Cottagers defence put in a well drilled performance.
Arsenal had scored 13 goals in their previous four games against Fulham but it took them 67 minutes to break them down in this clash, but the stats by the end of the game, eight shots to three on target, fully justified Arsenal’s win.
What’s next?
The other Saturday Premier League 2022 results threw up some eye-catching score lines. In the earlier kick offs Brighton’s clash with Leeds United ended up in a 1-0 victory for the Seagulls and Manchester City beat Crystal Palace 4-2 as Erling Braut Haaland scored his first Premier League hat-trick. But many Bournemouth fans will be sitting in a darkened room tonight after their team was thrashed 9-0 by Liverpool.
Next up Arsenal are at home to Aston Villa on Wednesday before heading to Old Trafford next Sunday for a classic top flight clash away to Manchester United.
The Cottagers have a tough week coming up, with a home game against Graham Potter’s Brighton on Tuesday followed by a short trip to North London to take on Tottenham Hotspur.
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