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Insipid Cottagers look prime relegation candidates

Defensive issues persist for Fulham

Tom Cairney (left) and Aleksandar Mitrovic (right) will be hoping they can guide Fulham to safety
Tom Cairney (left) and Aleksandar Mitrovic (right) will be hoping they can guide Fulham to safetyCredit: Justin Setterfield

Premier League
Arsenal 4 Fulham 1
Xhaka 25, Kamara 70
Lacazette 55,
Ramsey 79,
Aubameyang 83

The story of the match
Fulham travelled to the Emirates on New Year's Day buoyed by their victory in a crucial six-pointer against Huddersfield but suspect defending set in from the start.

Claudio Ranieri's men were second to every ball in the early stages, struggling to compete with Arsenal's high-intensity pressing.

The warning signs were there when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang misfired from close range less than two minutes into the game following Alex Iwobi's low cross.

There were similarities in the way both sides set up and there was space to expose behind Arsenal's rearguard as well.

Ryan Sessegnon spurned two glorious chances to open the scoring, firstly curling a one-on-one effort wide of Bernd Leno's goal before scuffing Andre Schurrle's inswinging cross.

With such abject defending at both ends, goals were coming and Arsenal found the first through Granit Xhaka who, unmarked in the box, collected Iwobi's cross and fired into the net.

Alex Lacazette notched a second before a swift move from Fulham was rounded off by Aboubakar Kamara to keep the game alive.

With so much space between Fulham's defence and midfield, it was inevitable they would be breached again and Aaron Ramsey collected a rebound to rifle the ball into the top corner.

Despite the unwavering support of their fans ringing around the Emirates, Fulham then lost any sting left in their tail and Aubameyang ended the match as a contest with a late long-range strike.

Tactics
Ranieri sets his side up in a 3-4-3 system and width and pace are typically pivotal to Fulham's game.

Schurrle and Sessegnon have pace in abundance and are often given more space when Aleksandar Mitrovic drops into a false nine role.

Of the two central midfielders, Tom Cairney was positioned as the more creative player with Ibrahima Cisse taking up the role of midfield anchor.

Ranieri noticed a sense of disconnect running through the spine of the team and opted to make substitutions in defence, midfield and attack midway through the second half.

Strengths
Positives were few and far between in this performance from Fulham but a handful of individuals put in modest shifts.

Jean Michael-Seri improved Fulham's final ball when he came on for Cisse and the visitors notched moments after the change was made.

Typically deployed in a holding role, Michael-Seri was stronger and more composed on the ball than his midfield counterparts and provided better service for Fulham's front men.

Weaknesses
Fulham have shipped an eye-watering 47 league goals this term and it was easy to see why at the Emirates.

Their back three of Tim Ream, Maxime Le Marchand and Denis Odoi were playing far too tight together, while Joe Bryan and Cyrus Christie kept close to the touchlines.

That combination left large pockets of space out wide and Arsenal focused attacks down those channels time and time again, as highlighted by the opening two goals.

Ranieri's men struggled to string passes together in the middle of the park and Xhaka and Matteo Guendouzi outmuscled their creative outlets when they tried to advance.

Goalscorer notebook
Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored eight of Fulham's 19 Premier League goals this season and naturally heads the market for them every match.

His superiority inflates the prices about other players and Sessegnon, who consistently found space behind Arsenal's defence and carved out chances, could be a value bet to notch first in future fixtures.

View from the camp
Ranieri said: "If you analyse the first half hour we created two great chances. The home crowd thought, 'what happened?' and started to boo their players.

"But then Arsenal scored with their first chance because of our mistake and then we made another mistake and they scored. We were back at 2-1 but then made more mistakes."

Prospects
Fulham did not impress at all in a calamitous performance and their defensive issues look too significant to smooth out before the end of the season.

Their best hope is that their front three begin firing on all cylinders and they can score enough to compensate for their leaky defence.

Opposition
Arsenal hit back from the 5-1 mauling at Anfield with a bang, or so the scoreline would suggest.

Despite claiming a comprehensive win, the Gunners looked sluggish for much of the game and Unai Emery got his first serving of Gooner hostility, with boos ringing round after Alex Lacazette was taken off for Aaron Ramsey.

The decision actually provided Arsenal's front line with more balance and they looked more comfortable having changed from 3-4-2-1 in the first half to 4-3-3 in the second period.

The result means they still have just three clean sheets to their name in the league and had Fulham not been so wasteful with their early chances, it could have been a very different result.

Teams
Arsenal (3-4-2-1): Leno; Mustafi (Torreira 45), Sokratis, Koscielny; Maitland-Niles, Guendouzi, Xhaka, Kolasinac; Iwobi (Saka 83), Aubameyang; Lacazette (Ramsey 75).

Fulham (3-4-3): Rico; Odoi, Le Marchand, Ream; Christie (Fosu-Mensah 56), Cairney, Cisse (Seri 61), Bryan; Sessegnon, Mitrovic, Schurrle (Kamara 61).

Next three fixture
Arsenal: Blackpool (a), West Ham (a), Chelsea (h).
Fulham: Oldham (h), Burnley (a), Tottenham (h).


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Liam FlinRacing Post Sport

Published on 3 January 2019inFootball tips

Last updated 15:27, 6 January 2019

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