EPL: Arsenal gets another chance to finish on high as they face Fulham

Arsenal will have another chance to end the year on a high note when they make the short trip to Fulham to take on Marco Silva’s men.

As pointed out ahead of earlier fixtures this season, Fulham are one of the most polarising and inconsistent sides in the league ahead of their game against Arsenal. The Cottagers won two games with a 5-0 scoreline but have struggled since by losing their next three and scoring no goals in those losses.

Marco Silva might even understand the performance against Newcastle United, where they were down to ten men early on. However, the Fulham stars have no excuses for explaining what went wrong against Burnley and Bournemouth after that.

While the Cottagers languish in 13th place, unfortunately for them, the teams below are performing better, which could see them drop into the relegation conversation at some stage. Silva would certainly hope that is not the case and would look to hurt Arsenal again as Fulham did earlier in the season at the Emirates.

Mikel Arteta was not aghast with Arsenal’s performance despite a shock 0-2 loss at home to West Ham United. The Spaniard insisted if his team continued playing the way they did, it would result in a lot of wins, which may have some merit considering the North Londoners put on a solid showing without finding the net.

There were plenty of chances, but one must laud West Ham for being clinical when they had the opportunity. Tomas Soucek’s opener in the first half once again put VAR under the scanner, as the officials could not conclusively decide whether the ball went past the line before Bowen squared it off to the Czech midfielder.

Arteta will have no complaints about their second, as West Ham once again found chunks in Arsenal’s armour and scored from a set piece. The Gunners will have David Raya to thank for the late penalty save. But the Arsenal manager will want a good showing against Fulham. The loss to the Hammers saw them slip away from Liverpool in the top order and are in real danger of another fall with another bad result.

Marco Silva suggested the three consecutive losses may have been due to Fulham missing some key players who were in-form. For instance, Raul Jimenez, who had three goals in two games before getting sent off, proved catastrophic for the Cottagers, and the same goes for Willian, who also missed three games.

While the Mexican is back in contention after serving his ban, Willian remains a considerable doubt to face his former side. Tim Ream and Adama Traore are definitely out of the contest. With the Americans absent from action, Tosin Adarabioyo and Calvin Bassey will take central defensive duties on their shoulders.

Timothy Castagne could come in for Kenny Tete at right-back, while Antonee Robinson remains best placed to start on the left. Arsenal-linked Joao Palhinha will head their midfield alongside Tom Cairney.

With Willian potentially absent to face his former side, Alex Iwobi can, and he will start in the Brazilian’s customary position on the left. Jimenez will lead the line, while Andreas Pereira will take the No.10 role. Besides him, Silva might bring Harry Wilson back into the fold in place of Bobby De Cordova-Reid.

Mikel Arteta does not have any fresh concerns, although he might not make wholesale changes. The returning Kai Havertz will come straight into the setting and replace Leandro Trossard, who could have had a better game in midweek.

Questions were raised about Oleksandr Zinchenko after some errors in the last few games. But Arsenal currently have no choice but to play him. The Ukrainian does a lot in the attacking third and midfield to merit another start, although he must improve defensively.

Martin Odegaard had a tremendous game, only for his fellow attackers to not take their chances, as he would want them to do better. He will take his place alongside Declan Rice and Havertz, who missed the West Ham clash with a suspension.

All eyes will be on Brazilian pair Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus, who missed a few good chances in the last game. Bukayo Saka also needs to be more clinical, and this front-three partnership will want to add goals to their game.