Arsenal bounced back from their 5-1 humiliation at Anfield last week by defeating Fulham 4-1 and taking the aggregate score to 9-2 this season against the relegation-threatened team.
Regardless of what the score-line indicates, it was a mixed bag of a game for Arsenal. The Gunners were 1-0 up at half-time and could easily have been down a goal or two had Fulham converted their chances.
Granit Xhaka scored the opener in the first half and Alexandre Lacazette doubled the advantage in the 55th minute. Substitute Aboubakar Kamara provided Fulham some hope as he pulled one back in the 69th minute.
However, goals from Aaron Ramsey and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sealed it for Arsenal.
Here, we take a look at the talking points from the game:
YET ANOTHER GAME WITHOUT A CLEAN SHEET, A CAUSE OF CONCERN FOR ARSENAL
Whether it’s a three-man defence or a four-man defence, the problems at the back have continued to persist for manager Unai Emery. Arsenal have now gone five games without a clean sheet and this should come as a concern for the Spaniard.
Laurent Koscielny played after a lengthy break because of injury and gets a pass for a sub-par performance, but it’s worth noting that the Frenchman provided no resistance to Fulham’s front line and looked lost at times.
Ryan Sessegnon was left with acres of space at times and the youngster looked dangerous outside the final third. Luckily for Arsenal, the teenager forgot his finishing boots at home and missed an absolute sitter in the first half that could have turned the game around.
Aleksander Mitrovic was constantly on the hunt in the final third and troubled the duo of Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi but failed to really test the keeper. Mustafi – who was taken off at half-time because of illness – was absolutely horrendous with his positioning, passing and defending in general.
Simply put, the defensive performance in the first half was not so much of an improvement from their game against Liverpool and it was just a matter of Fulham not being able to finish as proficiently as Liverpool.
ARSENAL WAKE UP IN THE SECOND HALF, YET AGAIN
It’s not uncommon for Arsenal to put on a lazy show in the first half and follow it up with a brilliant, all-rounded performance in the second half. The win over Fulham can be added to the list of games where they did this.
For all the criticism of their first half-performance – which is completely deserved – the hosts should be credited for springing back to life in the second half. Beautiful, free-flowing football was on display and Lacazette’s goal – which was at the end of a brilliant link-up between Iwobi, Kolasinac and the Frenchman – Is worth watching a thousand times.
The performance – especially from the midfield – was near-flawless and the Gunners showed that they are capable of dominating the opponents, while playing beautiful football. So, the question is, why should they wait until the second half to set things in motion?
It’s not wise to hand the opposition the upper hand in the beginning and then bank on making a come-back later. The risk involved does not consider the quality of the opposition and could backfire heavily.
Liverpool exploited Arsenal’s weak start last week, but Fulham could not.
Emery cannot afford to maintain status quo on how his team approaches every game. At first glance, a second-half come-back in most matches might come off as a sign that the team shows character and fights till the end.
But it hides deeper problems and the fact that success built on such wins is not sustainable in the long run and the bubble is sure to burst someday.
