Full Time: 1-1! Arsenal's Title Hopes Hampered by Draw with Stubborn Fulham

Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham in a Premier League clash at Craven Cottage on a dreary Sunday. Raúl Jiménez opened the scoring early for the hosts, while William Saliba equalized for the Gunners shortly after halftime.
The result sees Arsenal remain in second place with 29 points, just ahead of Chelsea, who were set to play Tottenham later in the day. Fulham, having also denied Arsenal victories both home and away last season, are now in 10th place with 23 points, having lost just once in their last seven league matches.

"I'm gutted that we didn't win. We fully deserved to," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said after the match. "That's the quality of the opposition, so we can't dwell on it. We created plenty of chances, but attacking was difficult."
Arsenal dominated possession early, controlling the ball for nearly the first 10 minutes. However, Jiménez stunned the title challengers in the 11th minute, sprinting down the right and slotting a right-footed shot past goalkeeper David Raya into the far corner.

Declan Rice came close to equalizing for Arsenal midway through the first half, connecting with a pass from Leandro Trossard, but his left-footed volley went just wide of Fulham keeper Bernd Leno's post. Despite holding nearly 75% possession and earning four corners compared to Fulham’s none, Arsenal struggled to penetrate the hosts' well-organized defense.

Saliba finally found the net for Arsenal shortly after the break, poking in from close range after Kai Havertz headed a corner back into his path.
In a dramatic finish, Arsenal thought they had snatched a late winner in the 88th minute when Bukayo Saka scored with a header, only for the goal to be disallowed by the video assistant referee for offside earlier in the play.


Fulham's performance means they remain unbeaten in their last nine London derbies in the league, their best run since the 2000-2001 season.
"They're a good team and they know how to defend," Martin Ødegaard acknowledged. "But we didn't do enough today. We have to learn from this and ensure we bounce back in the next match."