Premier League: Will Fulham Deal Arsenal a Huge Blow to Their Title Hopes?

Fulham vs Arsenal

Marco Silva’s men are back on the drawing board after the floodgates seemingly finally opened for them earlier this month.

After back-to-back wins against Nottingham Forest and West Ham United, the Cottagers have now lost three consecutive Premier League matches, and they have fallen to 13^th in the standings as a result.

Arsenal have dropped points too in the past few games since they drew with Liverpool and lost to West Ham United. And for this game, Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Manchester City will be looking closely at the Premier League 2023 updates, with the hope that the Gunners’ mini-slump continues.

Talking Points

Fulham can’t wait to have Jimenez back

Raul Jimenez has missed Fulham’s last three games after being given the red card against Newcastle United when he hit Sean Longstaff with a high knee, and it’s not a coincidence that they lost to Burnley and Bournemouth while they escaped Everton in the EFL Cup quarter-finals.

After scoring 13 goals prior to the Longstaff fiasco, Fulham haven’t scored a single Premier League goal while conceding five on the other end, so it’s clear that Jimenez’s return couldn’t come soon enough.

With Jimenez sidelined, Rodrigo Muniz has started as Fulham’s No. 9 instead of Carlos Vinicius, but it’s safe to say he hasn’t delivered.

Meanwhile, the bright spot during Fulham’s poor stretch has been their team captain, Tom Cairney. After starting the campaign on the bench, he has worked his way back into Marco Silva’s starting XI in a double-pivot midfield role alongside Joao Palhinha.

Cairney, 32, is showing no signs of slowing down. The former Blackburn Rovers player has already recorded two goals and two assists this season.

Too many missed opportunities for Arsenal

While the draw with Liverpool is commendable, the 2-0 loss to West Ham United earlier today was particularly tough since they were arguably the dominant side in the match.

Their inability to convert possession into goals has led to frustration for Mikel Arteta’s side, as they didn’t make any of their 30 shots, while they had 77 touches in the opposition box, which is the most on record (since 2008-09) in a Premier League game for a side that has failed to score.

Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, and Leandro Trossard all had their chances, but to no avail.

Among the title contenders this term, Arsenal (36) have scored fewer goals than the likes of Liverpool (39), Aston Villa (40), and Manchester City (43), and their top scorer is Bukayo Saka with only five goals.

Mikel Arteta knows that they need to be better than this. And the hope is that this isn’t déjà vu for the Gunners since they were in a similar situation just last year, when once they relinquished the top spot, they couldn’t get it back, only to see another team lift the Premier League trophy.

History

Fulham and Arsenal have already met in August, which ended in a 2-2 draw despite the former being reduced to 10 men after Calvin Bassey was sent off.

Andreas Pereira got Fulham off to a flying start, scoring after just 57 seconds, but Arsenal regained the lead via a 70^th-minute penalty by Bukayo Saka and another effort by Eddie Nketiah two minutes later.

However, Joao Palhinha saved the day for the Cottagers, as he finished off a corner in the 87^th minute to share the spoils with the Gunners.

Following the 2-2 draw, Fulham will be aiming to avoid defeat in both Premier League meetings with Arsenal in a single season for the third time ever, last doing so in 2011-12 and 2008-09 (both W1, D1).

However, it’ll be easier said than done because Arsenal have won their last five Premier League road matches against Fulham while netting at least three goals in each of the last four.

Betting Tip

Arsenal are the huge favourites to win, based on the updated SBOTOP Premier League 2023 odds. The visitors are pegged at 1.53, whereas Fulham are at 5.20, and a draw is at 3.88 odds in the 1X2 market.

But more than the victory for Arsenal, this has the potential to be yet another high-scoring duel. So other than our recommended bet above, you may also want to consider Total Goal 2-3 at 1.94 or Total Goal 4-6 at 3.03.

On the other hand, if you fancy another draw between these two sides, check out Correct Score 2-2, the result of their reverse fixture, since it is on offer at a staggering 18.00.

 

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