Arsenal just dropped points in the London Derby against Fulham in round 15 of the Premier League. This result has officially caused them to be surpassed by Chelsea in the rankings. The Gunners are currently in 3rd place 2 points behind The Blues and 6 points behind The Kop, in the context that Liverpool are playing 1 match less.
In the previous two seasons, Arsenal almost only had to compete with Man City in the championship stage. This season, when Man City is gradually falling, Arsenal has faced two other very strong opponents, Chelsea and Liverpool. The draw with Fulham is very harmful because it could cause the "Gunners" to fall further behind the two teams above them as the Christmas tourmalet is approaching.
Entering the match against Fulham at Craven Cottage, Arsenal played quite slowly and showed no signs of wanting to score to take the lead in the first half. The reason is that the schedule is so tight that the players' legs need to be preserved. They played 1 match in midweek, after which the match against Fulham will continue in the UEFA Champions League.
The intensity of about 3 days/match makes The Gunners have to distribute their strength. Until the opponent broke the net, Arsenal still had no intention of pressing up early to find an equalizer in the first half. Mikel Arteta and his team were determined to focus their efforts in the second half and almost succeeded if Bukayo Saka's goal in the final minutes had not been awarded an offside penalty.
Throughout the first half, Arsenal controlled the ball up to 67% but mostly just kept it in their feet and passed it back and forth to save energy. The proof is that they only had 1 shot on target. In the second half, when they pushed forward, the "Gunners" had 7 shots on target but it was not enough to defeat the former goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
The draw with Fulham left Arsenal with very bad stats in each away trip. In 24 away games under Arteta and behind in the first half, Arsenal have won just once (D5 L18). This statistic explains why the "Gunners" lost 2 points despite being behind early and pressuring Fulham throughout the second half.
William Saliba's equalizer was the 23rd time Arsenal have torn the net from corners since the start of the 2023-24 season. Once again, they have to live on fixed-phase breathing. This is not a negative thing, but it reflects the fact that The Gunners' attack is too weak at some points despite having launched all the possible options onto the field.
This match shows that once Arsenal's opponents accept to play tough, Arteta's team is very vulnerable. Fulham with Axel Iwobi, Adama Traore and Calvin Bassey won almost all of the one-on-one duels in the match. Just physical strength and approach will make Arsenal tired, that could be the formula used by the away teams when facing the "Gunners" in the next round.
