Coming into the game, I thought I had some idea of how Fulham would play. As most teams do at Highbury, I figured they would get 10 men behind the ball and play for a point. Boy, was I right. Fulham defended staunchly for the full 90 minutes, but came away with a valuable point after Arsenal’s first 0-0 at Highbury in the Premiership in 46 games.
Arsenal lined up for the game as was expected, with Bergkamp and Gilberto returning at the expense of the injured Parlour and Kanu. Fulham meanwhile, packed the midfield and had Saha on his own up front.
Arsenal made an uncharacteristically slow start, with their first attempt of note coming after 12 minutes. Ljungberg picked the ball up inside the Fulham half, drove forward and shot low, but Van Der Sar made a smart save to his right. Soon after, Ljungberg had another chance, when Bergkamp put him through on goal, but once again his shot was well saved by the impressive Dutch international.
By this stage, Robért Píres was beginning to have an influence on proceedings and had a goal disallowed in the 18th minute after an earlier offside. After another Ljungberg opportunity went begging and Henry shot wide from outside the area, Edu blazed over the bar from distance when Píres had put him in a good position. Then Píres himself shot wide after a cut-back from Henry, despite having time to control the ball and shoot.
Arsenal were now running the show, with some lovely one-touch football in the attacking third. Both Henry and Bergkamp had great attempts saved by Van Der Sar, who was having an inspired game. After another save by Van Der Sar from Henry, Gilberto was caught in possession and Fulham won a free kick. Fortunately, Sean Davis shot high over the bar. Just before half time, Gilberto fired over the bar and Freddie had another shot well saved.
At half time, Arsenal had had 7 attempts on target to Fulham’s meagre 1. Píres had certainly been the best player in the first half, closely followed by Edwin Van Der Sar, who seemed to be saving everything thrown at him. The atmosphere had been surprisingly poor in the North Upper in the so far and I expected a more uplifting second half. Fulham had already clearly signalled their intentions and had been successful.
The second half started with a bang, as Henry, a candidate for world player of the year, was put through by Píres. His square ball was just too far in front of the onrushing Gilberto to be diverted into the net. Minutes later, Bergkamp found himself one on one with Van Der Sar, but the keeper came out on top, saving Bergkamp’s low drive. Malbranque and Saha had shots for Fulham, failing to trouble Lehmann, before Arsenal had another period of prolonged pressure. However, every time we got near the Fulham goal, Van Der Sar was there to claim the ball. With half an hour to go, Bergkampo had another opportunity saved, before Freddie was crowded out from the rebound. As Arsenal pressed forward, knowing that a single goal was all that was needed, Fulham had a few chances, but first Legwinski and then Volz, Arsenal’s on-loan right back, shot wide.
Coming into the final quarter of the game, the crowd were clearly very tense. Arsenal had played well thus far, but the ball just would not go in. However, Gilberto had been replaced by Kanu, which briefly gave the fans hope. Immediately, Kanu had a chance, but strangely chose not to shoot after through on goal. Bergkamp missed a Kanu cut-back, and then volleyed wide from the edge of the box. Soon after, Henry drove the ball wide after a fine run, and then had a further shot from distance saved by the Dutch keeper.
Arsenal had corner after corner, shot after shot, but it just wasn’t happening. Barry Hayles came on for the lonesome Saha, before Freddie shot high and wide after Henry had a shot blocked. Then the Swede was replaced by the young Frenchman, Jeremie Aliádíère. With 5 minutes to go, Kanu shot low from about 15 yards out, but Van Der Sar made another smart save. The final minutes petered out uneventfully, as many Arsenal fans vacated their seats.
Arsenal could have had at least 5 goals today, but Edwin Van Der Sar played out of his skin. Some credit must go to the Fulham defence, who gave us little space to shoot, but Van Der Sar was Man of the Match. You expect a goalkeeper to spill at least one shot, but the Dutch giant dropped nothing. One might compare this game to the home defeat by Blackburn last season, when Brad Friedel was excellent, and saved everything.
It was by no means a poor performance by the Arsenal, especially considering the fact that this Fulham side beat Man United at Old Trafford only a month ago. In games like this, I begin to wonder if a bigger pitch would suit Arsenal better. Highbury is one of the Premiership’s smallest pitches, and if a team wants to defend, it is much easier to do so at Highbury. Moreover, it makes me think that we really do need another striker in the January sales, when, fingers crossed, we will have some money to spend.
We are now one point behind Chelski who beat Man United today at Stamford Bridge. Man United now trail us by 3 pts and Chelsea by 4, but at this stage, it is all inconsequential. We all know how Man United like to come from behind to win the title and that Chelsea have never won the title, so we shouldn’t be too happy or upset at today’s results.
Bring on Tuesday night, when Arsenal take on Wolves at THOF in the Carling Cup!
PLAYER REVIEWS AND RATINGS
Lehmann – Our German keeper hardly had a save to make. He came off his line quickly and efficiently on a few occasions and his distribution was generally good. 7/10
Touré – Kolo was very solid in defence, as we have come to expect of him. He didn’t look too out of place at right back, getting up and down the flank well to support the attack. He made one excellent run early in the second half, showing his trademark enthusiasm, but his cross was intercepted. 7.5/10
Cygan – The cool defender put in his third good performance in a row. He had a shaky start, giving the balll away and subsequently committing a foul, but he improved greatly thereafter. His distribution was of a high standard, and he dominated in the air. His lack of pace was not exposed by Fulahm’s attack. 7.5/10
Campbell – An untroubled day for the rock in our defence, Sol was hardly called upon. However, Arsenal had a lot of possession at the back and Campbell’s distribution proved awful. He played it long on countless occasions and gave it away. Not good enough. 5.5/10
Cole – Ashley had a good game today, combining well with Píres on the left and defending well also. He got forward and put crosses in on two or three occasions, but no one got on the end of his passes. Nevertheless, a fine performance, from a man quickly becoming one of our most consistent players.
Ljungberg – The Swede is in a rich vein of form at the moment, having scored in the last three games. He could have added a few to that tally today, but either shot wide or was thwarted by Van Der Sar. He worked hard before being substituted and looked lively throughout. 7/10
Gilberto – The Brazilian international was not particularly impressive, to be honest. He did little, neither tackling with gusto nor giving the side impetus going forward. His passing wasn’t too bad, though he rarely tried anything too adventurous in that department. Some might argue that he was still tired after his international exertions, but performances like this seem to arrive all too frequently for the Highbury faithful. 5/10
Edu – Another tidy and committed game from the Brazilian today. He tackled reasonably well, and pressured Fulham whenever they had possesssion. His passing was accurate but he did little in the last third. He was deservedly booked after a tackle from behind in the last minute. 7/10
Píres – Arsenal’s man of the match, without doubt. He ran tirelessly, constantly troubling the Fulham defence, and was involved in almost all of our chances. He even made some good tackles in the second half. Super Rob looks to be near to his best once again.
8.5/10
Bergkamp – The original Dutch master had a reasonably good game, but was not at his best, as he was at Birmingham last week. He should have scored when one on one with the keeper early in the second half, but his low shot was saved. He put both Ljungberg and Kanu through on goal with his trademark slide-rule pass, and looked more threatening when coming from right midfield lat on in the game. 7/10
Henry – Titi was not at his best, but remained a constant threat to the Fulham defence. He had several attempts on target, but was not as clinical as usual. He made several penetrating, blistering runs, but the final touch was never there. We can’t expect true greatness every week. 7/10
SUBS:
Kanu – He did very well when he came on and was often involved in Arsenal’s slick approach play. He held the ball up well, but maybe should have pulled the trigger when through on goal. He chose not to, but still, an encouraging 25 minutes. 7/10
Aliádíère – Hardly got a touch of the ball after entering the fray with 10 minutes to go. He had little time to make any significant impact. 6/10