Arsenal once again had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Fulham despite a goal from a corner, as the Gunners missed the chance to close the gap with Premier League leaders Liverpool to four points.
For the second time in four days, Arsenal struck a decisive blow straight after half-time as William Saliba parried Kai Havertz's header from Declan Rice's corner to make the match 1-1 – their Gunners' 23rd goal away a corner since the start of last season.
The Gunners were frustrated throughout at Craven Cottage, dominating the match and giving Fulham little apart from Raul Jimenez's opener on 11 minutes when the Mexican striker broke free from Jakub Kiwior's marker and smashed home past David Raya.
Saliba's goal survived a lengthy VAR check for offside, but the technology denied Arsenal on the brink of stoppage time when Bukayo Saka's late winner was ruled out for earlier offside by Gabriel Martinelli.
“[Liverpool head coach] Arne Slot would have watched those final few minutes and the biggest VAR decision of the season so far with his heart and soul,” Sky Sports Full-Time's Jamie Redknapp said.
“It was absolutely incredible, but Martinelli just had to stay out.”
“What a weekend for Liverpool. Man City drop points, Arsenal drop points and they have ended up in an even better position.”
Arsenal had many more chances to score more than one at Craven Cottage, with their best chances coming from, you guessed it, corners. Saliba should have scored from Arsenal's first goal of the match but headed wide, while Thomas Partey curled a chance wide from another Rice corner.
The Gunners thought they had secured victory after Martinelli's cross was headed home by Saka, but VAR saw the former had gone into the build-up too early.
“He is offside, but from a football technical point of view that is criminal from Martinelli,” says Paul Merson. “You can't be offside. You look down the line.
“He's got speed, he's electric, so he's not someone who's trying to gain a yard and play on the edge. I'd be surprised if he's not at the end of a yard in the manager's dressing room because he even knows.
“You could see it in his face afterwards, he knows you can't do that. One thing if you look along that line: don't be offside. It's that simple.”
The draw – plus the postponement of yesterday's Merseyside derby due to Storm Darragh – means Arsenal have reduced Liverpool's game at the top to four points – but Mikel Arteta's side will see this as a missed opportunity.
Fulham, meanwhile, are 11th but still two points off fifth ahead of a trip to Liverpool on Saturday.
Arteta 'gutted' as he searches for perfect performances
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta:
“I'm sad we didn't win it because I think we deserved to win from start to finish. We did almost everything we had to do to win it.
“But this is the quality of the opposition, with one chance they score a goal. And then also the margins of the competition. Within millimeters we could have been here with three points after a very strong and dominant performance against a very strong and dominant player, good team.
“You can't cry about it. That is also the great thing about this competition. The great thing about this team is also how they can play today, even under these conditions and against good opposition. I am very happy about that.”
“That is the quality of the opposition. We cannot feel sorry for ourselves. We have to stand up for ourselves. We played very well against a very good team. Normally you do not see these kinds of matches here.”
“Now we have to continue to improve and look at what we can do better so that the opponent has zero chances to win the match. That is the goal.”
Analysis: Corners are great, but Arsenal need more from open play
Sky Sports' Sam Blitz at Craven Cottage:
For the second game in a row, Arsenal produced an xG of around two, while giving their opponents very little at the other end. It was enough for the win against Manchester United, but not enough here.
It was also the second game in a row where 75 percent of Arsenal's xG came from corners alone. From the dead ball the Gunners are phenomenal, but at the moment they are not doing enough from open play.
Arsenal have barely managed 1.0 xG in their last two games away from the corner flag. “It's never enough if you don't score three, four or five,” Mikel Arteta said after the match. “If we want to improve, we have to be better in every action we take.”
Fulham's low block frustrated Arsenal. Of course it was; they have the fifth best defensive structure in the division when it comes to expected goals conceded. Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard were barely given a sniff down the flanks, while Kai Havertz was muscled out of the duels by Issa Diop and Calvin Bassey.
Arsenal have to deal with low blocks most weeks. “This is football. We can't cry about it,” added Arteta, whose team must become more creative when they don't have corners.
Silva: It wasn't our best day with the ball
Fulham manager Marco Silva:
“Tough game as we expected, very difficult for us. It has been a very tough week for us with three games in eight days. Difficult kind of games.
“This afternoon we knew it would be tough, Arsenal made it difficult for us. Great fighting spirit, the players stuck to the plan. Our early goal put us at a good time, that was really good.”
“After Arsenal took control of the game, I really believe it wasn't our best game with the ball.
“Arsenal took the ball away from ourselves. They controlled the ball, had set pieces, but they only had one really good chance from Declan Rice. They didn't have much more because we blocked them well.”
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