Toothless Gunners save their worst till last
Arsenal ends 2023 with second straight defeat as title charge falters
LONDON — Arsenal is limping into 2024 after a damaging stretch that culminated in what coach Mikel Arteta called “the worst performance of the season” on the final day of the year.
A toothless Arsenal side lost 2-1 at Fulham on Sunday despite taking the lead in the fifth minute, a second straight defeat that means the Gunners stayed in fourth place in the Premier League — when a victory would have lifted them into first.
“It’s a really sad day because today we didn’t deserve to win the game,” Arteta said. “That was the worst performance of the season.”
It continued a worrying run that has seen Arsenal end 2023 with just one win in its last five league games, including its first home loss of the season to West Ham on Thursday.
Arsenal would have provisionally climbed above Liverpool atop the table with a win, but could find itself five points off the lead if Jurgen Klopp’s team beats Newcastle on Monday. Arsenal stayed in fourth — having been top of the table at Christmas — and is now just one point ahead of fifth-place Tottenham after its north London rival beat Bournemouth 3-1 at home.
“If we play like today we will be nowhere near. Today was a really difficult day to swallow,” said Arteta on his side’s title aspirations.
“We never got going because we gave every ball away.”
Arsenal had started brightly at Craven Cottage as Bukayo Saka pounced to tap home his first goal in six games after Bernd Leno parried Gabriel Martinelli’s initial effort.
But the visitor failed to build on its early advantage and Fulham hit back to snap a three-game losing run in the Premier League without even scoring a goal.
Raul Jimenez was badly missed during his three-game ban for a red card at Newcastle and the Mexican kick-started the Fulham fightback with his fourth goal in as many games.
Former Arsenal winger Willian sent Tom Cairney free down the left and his dangerous low cross was swept home by Jimenez at the back post.
Fulham was the better side in the second half and it got its reward just before the hour mark.
Arsenal failed to clear a corner and the ball broke kindly for Bobby De Cordova-Reid to smash home from close range.
Only a fine save from David Raya to deny Cairney and the crossbar from Andreas Pereira’s freekick prevented the Gunners from suffering further punishment in the pouring rain in west London.
But enough damage may have been done to their title chances over the past week.
“Not good enough from us again today,” Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice said. “The game against West Ham we had 30 shots, so many touches in the box but couldn’t put it away. Today when (we) go one up we have to have more control. We need to demand more from each other. We had to push on again and go for more. In this league there is no room to mess up. It is a tough one to take.”
Fulham had lost its last three league games by a combined score of 8-0 but was boosted by the return of Jimenez from a suspension. The striker has now scored four goals in his last four league games — equaling his tally from his previous 50.
Arteta’s men could even be outside the top four by the time they are next in league action in three weeks’ time as Tottenham closed to within a point of the Champions League places. Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs shrugged off a mounting injury crisis to inflict Bournemouth’s first defeat in eight games.
Tottenham is three points behind Liverpool after bouncing back from a 4-2 defeat at Brighton on Thursday with a convincing win against the Cherries.
Tottenham was boosted by the early return of Rodrigo Bentancur from an injury at a time when Postecoglou is without a handful of starters. But the win was marred by Senegal international Pape Sarr leaving the field in tears with an injury in the first half — just two weeks before the start of the African Cup of Nations — after he had scored the opening goal in the ninth minute.
Tottenham had to wait until the 71st minute for another goal, but Son Heung-min and Richarlison scored late to make the game safe before Alex Scott pulled one back for Bournemouth.
After a great start to the season under Postecoglou, Tottenham fell out of the top four after a five-game winless run but could soon be back in the Champions League places.
“We’re still in there and fighting,” Postecoglou said. “We’re three points off the top so if that is the difference between having a great season and where we are I’ll take it.
“When you’re trying to build something you will undoubtedly come up against some challenges. I am seeing progress.”
It’s a really sad day because today we didn’t deserve to win the game. That was the worst performance of the season.”
Mikel Arteta, Arsenal manager on Sunday’s loss to Fulham