Fulham won 2-1. Arsenal: The Gunners suffer their second consecutive defeat, dealing a serious blow to their title aspirations, as goals from Raul Jimenez and Bobby Decordova-Reid help Marco Silva’s men come from behind after Bukayo Saka’s opener.
Arsenal suffered costly back-to-back defeats as Fulham rallied from behind to defeat them 2-1, capping off their 2023 campaign on a poor note.
The Gunners took the lead against their London rivals as Bukayo Saka tapped in following their humiliating 2-0 home defeat to West Ham the previous week.
But Marco Silva’s side pulled off a stunning comeback as Raul Jimenez leveled the scores before Bobby Decordova-Reid delivered Mikel Arteta’s men yet further setback.
Fulham dealt Arsenal a huge blow to their title hopes as they secured a 2-1 come-from-behind victory at Craven Cottage
Arsenal suffered their second straight defeat, falling 2-1 against Fulham on Sunday, missing out on a chance to finish the year atop the Premier League table.
Arsenal took the lead after only five minutes thanks to Bukayo Saka, but the visitors were rendered impotent as Raul Jimenez equalized in the first half and Bobby De Cordova-Reid scored in the 59th.
Arsenal led the league before Christmas but will finish fourth in 2024 following this defeat, which comes on the heels of their first home loss of the season against West Ham on Thursday. A win at Fulham would have propelled Mikel Arteta’s club temporarily over leading Liverpool in the top four.
The Gunners have now endured back-to-back defeats to cap off their impressive 2023 on a low note in west London
However, the Gunners have only won one of their previous five league games, and this was possibly their most sluggish effort in that time. Arteta will have to decide whether to look for forward reinforcements in the January transfer window as his team struggled to produce any quality chances after its early goal, despite converting to a back three with two strikers up front for the final 20 minutes.
Gabriel Martinelli did the hard work for the opener, racing with the ball from his own half before cutting into the area and curling a low shot toward the far post that Bernd Leno could only parry into the path of Saka, who only needed to put his foot out to turn in the goal.
But Fulham responded well and had already missed two decent chances to score by the time Jimenez met a low cross from Tom Cairney and beat David Raya with a first-time effort in the 29th. It was Jimenez’s fourth goal in his last four league games — equaling his tally from the previous 50.
Fulham continued to look dangerous when going forward De Cordova-Reid put the hosts ahead after Arsenal failed to clear a corner and the ball fell to the winger to poke home from close range.
Mexican forward Raul Jimenez then struck the equaliser to ensure Fulham went in at half time with the scores level
Saka had a chance to equalize in the 63rd when the ball fell to him in the area but he volleyed well high. In fact, Arsenal didn’t have an effort on target in the second half until a scuffed cross from Saka in injury time that fell harmlessly to Leno. And that was despite striker Gabriel Jesus coming off the bench in the 67th to partner Eddie Nketiah up front as Arteta opted to play with just three defenders.
Bobby Decordova-Reid then sent the home supporters into delirium on New Year’s Eve as he prodded home to give Fulham a big win
In the 71st minute, Raya had to stretch to save an effort from Cairney, and Andreas Pereira slammed a free kick against the crossbar in the 87th.
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