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Match review Monday: Fulham frustrate Arteta's Arsenal
47 Plays13 days ago
Fulham recaps a dogged Fulham display which saw them put a dent in Arsenal's title challenge.
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Transcript
Fulham's Challenging Week Review
00:00:06
Speaker
sports podcast network Welcome along to the Daily Fulham Podcast. My name is Gavin Ruffle and it's Match Review Monday. I've got every angle covered of Fulham's game with Arsenal for you. And this was the final game in a very tricky week for Fulham against some tough opposition, three games in a space of eight days against Spurs, against Brighton and going to this one against Arsenal.
00:00:30
Speaker
So very tough fixture list for them, but one that would ultimately prove prosperous in the end.
Strategic Lineup Adjustments by Fulham
00:00:36
Speaker
Speculation about the team, what Marko Silva would go with after the Brighton game haven't opted to change things slightly with a bit of rotation there. He had Sasalukic coming back for this game after being suspended for the game in midweek. So he slotted right back into the heart of midfield, as you would expect.
00:00:54
Speaker
As he's opted to do so in some of the trickier games, at least on paper this season, we saw him playing next to Sander Berger. Kenny Tei came in for Timothy Castagna, as you would have expected, again, just the rotation in midweek. Kenny, who's been constant in that right back position throughout the initial stage of the seasons,
00:01:13
Speaker
He started. The one question was who was going to start out wide. We kind of knew we got the feeling that Alex Iwobi was going to go back out wide with Sassalukic coming into the team. So that went to Adama Troiore who got the nod ahead of Harry Wilson. And the final change, which I suspected would happen, was Raul Jimenez coming in for Rodrigo Meniz. And there were question marks about the visitors, what they would do with their team as well.
00:01:41
Speaker
would Gabrielle be fit? Well, the answer to that is no, which I think would have been a relief to a lot of full and fancy in that team sheet that Gabrielle wasn't in it. So Kivior continued in his absence. And then there was a bit of reshuffling at full back with Thomas Partey going over to right back.
00:01:57
Speaker
and it was timber who switched over to the left side.
Tactical Adaptations Against Arsenal
00:02:01
Speaker
Trossard was also into the team. He came in for Martinelli and despite seeing what the lineup would be and what you would have predicted, we would have predicted Alex and Woebe to start on that left side but it was actually different. He threw a curve ball out there and it was a similar sort of setup to what he played at the end he had and it was actually a Dharma Troyer who started on that left side it will be on the right dropping back into a five when Fulham were asked to defend and in the initial stages they were asked to do a lot of defending they barely touched the ball in the first 10 minute struggle to string any sequence of passes together Arsenal had their first corner in the third minute and we know what a threat they are at corners so it's hold your breath time anytime they got a corner and the first one was headed wide glanced wide by Saliba so that gave them a warning straight away
00:02:47
Speaker
Arsenal they set out with purpose full and were unable to get up the pitch and the first time they were able to get with the pitch it resulted in a goal and this actually came off the back of 23 passes with Adama Troyer the only player not to have a touch in the lead up to this goal it comes to Tete on the right side he's got a bit of space he plays the ball in the channel Jimenez who's running on to it gets in front of Kivior and and then his first touch is
Raúl Jimenez's Surprise Goal
00:03:14
Speaker
good. A bit of a wide-ish angle. Saliba tries to close him down but he's not able to do so and then he unleashes a shot that fires into the bottom corner. Probably takes Raya by surprise a little bit the how early he takes it but it's a great finish and we know that if
00:03:28
Speaker
Fulham were to get anything from this game, they had to be ruthless with any opportunities they had and Raúl Jimenez having been guilty of missing a few chances against Spurs, maybe not looking quite so sharp. It was important for him to get back on the score sheet after just one or two questions coming up again about him and whether they would go with Rodrigo Muniz who had a quietly impressive performance in midweek. and Marco Silva wanted to give him that praise and how hard Monice had been working to get that opportunity. So, yeah, very important for Raoul Jimenez to get that goal. Second goal against Arsenal at a Craven Cottage in successive seasons. It gave you that bit of relief after that constant pressure for the first 10 minutes. But having said that, Arsenal, after that goal, they kept playing the same way they were before the goal.
Fulham's Struggles to Maintain Control
00:04:14
Speaker
They were putting crosses in. The corners started to top up.
00:04:17
Speaker
Diop was very impressive, I felt. He was ah heading everything away, clearing everything. First real big opportunity. Well, a bit of a half chance came for Declan Rice. It was a lofted ball over the top from Trossard. Declan Rice manages to make a run and he half volleys it on his left foot, doesn't make clean enough contact and it goes past the post. And Marco Silva, he did cut a frustrated figure despite Fulham being in the ascendancy as far as the scoreline was going, I'm not sure he would have been too keen on what he was seeing because Arsenal were certainly controlling the game. When Fulham did have the odd spell of possession, they weren't making the most of it. A couple of sloppy touches, which he touched on later in his post-match press conference that they weren't necessarily able to make the right decisions on the ball. There were a couple of moments. There was one where Sassa Lukic plays a ball into Smithrow. He just has his poor first touch. If he makes
00:05:11
Speaker
a better first touch and he threw on goal one-on-one with David Ryer. Arsenal were controlling the game and obviously coming into this game they were back to sort of what you would expect from them and having scored five goals in each of the last two games so that was warning to full and they were under no illusions that this was going to be a tough game and of course all the talk about set pieces so I'm sure they would have worked hard on training and doing their best to try and defend those balls coming in from the box from Saka and from Declan Rice.
00:05:39
Speaker
I was a little bit frustrated watching Adama Troyeray in this first half because any time he did get the ball he just tried to pass it straight away and I i was thinking to myself that's what Arsenal want you to do. What's the thing that they don't want you to do when you receive the ball and get position in their half? It's to run at them and just cause mayhem, cause chaos.
00:06:00
Speaker
It was disappointing that he didn't back himself to take on those Arsenal defenders and because that was probably the best best path for Fulham to try and secure a second goal because after the first goal it was backs against the wall. Saka was looking quite lively, spoke about the battle before the game about him and Anthony Robinson, two players on top form right now and that was always going to be one to watch. And I thought Sander Berger had a really, really good half. He was putting out fires when he did have the ball. He used it really well.
00:06:31
Speaker
The only mistake he did make ah was when he lost control of the ball, but then he made up for that. His his long limbs coming in coming in handy many times during this game. Half-time came at a good time for Fulham because it was backs against the wall for most of it, despite Arsenal not having too many clear-cut chances. But Kiyosaka did have the only shot on target for them, which was saved well by Ben Leno. But yeah, he needed the half-time whistle to get them in and to regroup. and just to remain focused on the task at hand. They had answered the questions that Arsenal posed, dealing well from those balls, those crosses coming into the box.
00:07:09
Speaker
But it's one thing doing that for 45 minutes. It's another thing doing it for 90 minutes. This is not the first time Fulham have gone in front this season. They've had a tendency to do that, but they've also had a tendency to not maintain their leading games. And we know they haven't kept the clean sheet at home for a long time. So playing against a team like Arsenal, they needed a second goal and they probably needed to change things because they were barely getting any real control of the game and the Jimenez chance was the only chance they had in that half. Second half action to come, but first a few words about our sponsors. Here at the Global Sports Podcast Network, we spent a lot of time selecting our delivery platform. Zencaster came out the clear winner. With 4K video recording and AI editing that automatically removes all those ums and r's, it's super easy to start a podcast that sounds great and is delivered efficiently.
00:08:02
Speaker
If you're ready to tell your story, check out the link in the show description to learn more about Zencaster. so into the second half and there was another book-in for sassalloitch So just coming back from a suspension, it it wouldn't surprise you the way he's been topping up the yellow cards if he's going to be suspended again soon, having racked up his tent. And I thought Troy Allray was really stopped. He started this second half really poorly. I was talking about my frustrations at some of his decision-making in the first half. And whenever he got the ball, all he seemed to do was give it away. And this was a big opportunity for him coming back into the team with Reece Nelson being ineligible, Reece Nelson also being injured. So he he went with him.
00:08:41
Speaker
Which I can understand, but I said it in the preview, whichever way he went, whether he went for Traore or for Wilson, it's one of those where you you you don't really mind. Traore has strengths, different to Harry Wilson, but the strengths that Adama Traore, you associate with him. He wasn't displaying that and he was trying to be too technical and too cute in his play and that's not his game. So yeah, he needed, but he needed subbing off based on his performance and From what I saw in the hour he was on the pitch, I'd be surprised if he starts any time soon. I don't think Silver could have been too happy with ah the performance that he put in. Arsenal did get their equaliser and to absolutely nobody's surprise it came from a corner.
00:09:25
Speaker
They've been given warning Arsenal are several corners in the first half from Sacher and Rice and as we've seen time and time again over the course of the last season and a half they're on the money so often and it's so hard to defend against and Fulham came up with their own way of defending in the first half but then Arsenal mixed it up and I guess that's the beauty of having a set-piece coach they can analyze footage and see what the opposition are doing and then then try to do something different again and you've just got to credit them for the practice they put in and the way that they attack their corners.
Arsenal's Set-Piece Strength
00:09:55
Speaker
Gabriel not playing in in this game so I thought that was a boost for Fulham because he was one, he's one that really is so dangerous from corners. You expect him to score almost every time but it was actually Saliba that got the goal from the corner this time. Havoc makes the first contact at the back post, climbs well. I'm not quite sure if he's going for goal or if he sees Saliba. I think he's probably going for goal. It's just a bit of a poor header. Luckily he finds Saliba and he has the simplest task
00:10:21
Speaker
to knock into an unguarded net for his second goal in two games. There was a quick VAR check for this one but Anthony Robinson was just playing him onside and so from that moment on still a long time to go in the game it's being resolute, being strong, you know what Arsenal are going to do for the next half hour. It's coping with that and coping with those balls in the box and Arsenal, they did shift the gear after that goal to look for the decisive goal and you felt like a second goal for Arsenal probably would have been enough because Fulham weren't showing so much going forward. As I said, a couple of substitutions, Emil Smithro wasn't able to make an impact
00:10:59
Speaker
against his former side. Trorori had a very poor out and on came Pereira and Harry Wilson, so this meant a slight change which was woe be going over to the left and Harry Wilson playing on the right.
00:11:11
Speaker
And it did seem like an Arsenal winner was inevitable. This was a very important fixture for them, needing to capitalise on Liverpool not playing. They probably would have gone into the weekend with Liverpool playing first, expected them to get the points, albeit Merseyside Derby, so form can go out the window in those games. um But the fact that Liverpool didn't play, it gave them a bit of a leg up, so an opportunity to take advantage of that. So they were pushing hard for the winner. And they nearly got that second goal again. It's from a corner. Rice delivery spot on.
00:11:40
Speaker
party, he's unmarked, he's about 6 yards out, doesn't get clean contact and heads it past the post, so a real let off there for Fulham. And then Fulham's only real opportunity, only shot on goal, they mustered in the second half, was a ball over the top Pereira breaks free but he doesn't have any support of him so he goes on his own left footshot tries to beat David Wright it's near post but he saves low down Calvin Bassey picks up a booking and this is a blow because he's now out of the Liverpool game and at this moment in time we don't know any more regarding Yucky Manderson's injury whether he might be available for the next game so Fulham could be in in an unenviable position where they're going to the league leaders without their two main centre arse
00:12:25
Speaker
It was backs against the wall for the last 20 odd minutes. Gabriel Jesus came on, Havertz came off and he had an opportunity straight away, Declan Royce chip ball in the box. Leno's coming out of goal but Gabriel Jesus isn't quite brave enough. You think it's coming over his head, he can hook his foot at it or try or try and do something but he pulls out of it and Leno's there to collect the ball. It's probably just signs of a guy that's not feeling so confident in front of the goal. His his goal return in recent times hasn't been good and What you saw with that little piece of play, he's probably evident and illustrates why he hasn't been scoring those goals. Rodrigo Muniz came on for the last 15 minutes, having put in a good shift in midweek. Raoul Jimenez came off and I think Raoul Jimenez will be happy with the shift that he put in as well.
00:13:11
Speaker
all-round good performance for him not just the goal in in a tough game where he's not getting so many touches on the ball in forward positions but he looked a lot better in this game than he did in his last out and against Spurs probably benefited from not playing in midweek and then it looked like Arsenal got their winner as you expect with teams going for the title scoring late goals is one of the trademark things you see Martinelli he's up against Harry Wilson on the left side crosses a ball and and then Bukaya Saka who Robinson who dealt with pretty well but you know with Bukayo Saki you're not going to keep him quiet for 90 minutes he's at the back stick and he just nudges the ball into the net and Arsenal you're thinking massive goal big celebrations it's probably one of those moments you look back and you think do you remember that game at Craven Cottage in December when we won nil down and we managed to come back and win 2-1 I always always look back to it was a Man United goal a number of years ago Cristiano Ronaldo went on a long solo run
00:14:08
Speaker
it was the same situation. They came from a goal down the end of that winning that game 2-1. Not one in the title but they won the league that season. I think a lot of people look back on that as like as a key game in that particular season so that could have been ah a massive turn point.
VAR Intervention and Match Relief
00:14:21
Speaker
VAR check and by the bearers of margins Gabriel Martinelli was offside big letoff of one big reprieve for them.
00:14:29
Speaker
Arsenal did have another chance to win it at the end. Declan Royce set piece out wide on the left. Good chance to get the ball in the box but this was the first time on this day that it didn't quite go to plan. It was neither a cross, neither a shot. And it went straight out play, much to the relief of all the Fulham fans. And it ended up one apiece. So three tough games in the space of a week. Spurs, Brighton and Arsenal. Some might have been looking at these games with some trepidation, but ultimately three games unbeaten, five points. So I think Fulham fans would definitely have taken that.
00:15:08
Speaker
And that's another London Derby ticked off, 9 unbeaten. Final thoughts in a moment, but let me just nudge you in the direction of GSPN. The Global Sports Podcast Network is changing the face of football podcasts, with dedicated daily content for every Premier League team women's football, fantasy football and a daily Premier League wrap-up broadcast in five different languages, it's your one-stop-shop for your daily football fix. Find GSPN wherever you find your usual podcasts. By the way, just a quick footnote, we are looking to strengthen our team in the network and would be keen for more contributors to the Daily Fulham Podcast.
00:15:46
Speaker
If that's something that may interest you and you feel you can lend your voice to this podcast, then don't hesitate to get in touch through our socials. That's GSPN Fulham on Twitter and GSPN Daily, Fulham on Insta. I will make it my mission to get back to you. So yeah, if if you love nothing more than to talk about Fulham, then this may be the platform for you. I thought the man of the match from a Fulham perspective was Sander Berger. He's been really good, really good. a late He just missed that one game, didn't he?
00:16:15
Speaker
against. who did Who did he miss the game against after international break? Wolves won it. First game after international break which Fulham lost four and maybe it's no coincidence the one game they've lost in recent times with which was when Sander Berger didn't play.
00:16:29
Speaker
He had that underwhelming performance against Aston Villa, but since then he's been very good and I thought ah thought he was the standout. I thought he said Diop was very good as well and he's been an unsung hero this season, he said Diop and every time a ball came in the box, particularly in the first half, he was there to head it away, to kick it away. May not have the great range of passing that Joachim Anderson has, but he seems to have cut out that error.
00:16:54
Speaker
the lackadaisical error that we have seen in the pass from him and I thought he was really solid in this game. He needed needed to be because Arsenal were testing him with there the crosses they were putting in and the the technical footballers they have as well. But Sandeberger for me was the standout, screening that back four, doing a lot of hard work, getting his long limbs to the ball, calm in possession for most of the time. Really good performance. He's shown Marco Silva that it's going to be hard to leave them out. It's funny how things work out in the way with Andreas Pereira being left out because of the situation.
00:17:30
Speaker
that's been spoken about, that's been made public, not necessarily due to football reasons, even though a lot of people have wanted him out of the team through football reasons. So this might be the time now where Sanderberger solidifies that partnership in midfield. It's probably dependent on the opposition as well. I'd imagine going into the next game against Liverpool, another really hard game on paper that you would see Sanderberger and Sasseleukacz. And sassaluccature maybe even how we lined up with Alex, who will be operating on that right hand side.
00:17:55
Speaker
playing as that sort of wing back, adding that another another defensive player when they are defending. But having said that, you might just revert back to the left based on Adama Truari's performance. He was the one that probably was underwhelming. Smithrow didn't have the greatest of the games as well. It was it was tough for him because Fulham didn't have so much of the ball.
00:18:13
Speaker
Yeah, is another positive, another positive. Arsenal obviously came to Craven Cottage last season and losing it had a big impact on their title run. After the defeat at Craven Cottage they went on a really good run losing only one game in in a long so in a long time in a good three or four month stretch. and You feel like they're going to have to do something similar now to get themselves back on track, but get themselves back in the title race. It is a different dynamic for Arsenal this season, chasing Liverpool at this stage rather than being solely focused on Manchester City. Even though Liverpool were in the title race, I suppose last season, but they weren't they weren't the number one threat.
00:18:49
Speaker
Chelsea's result on the weekend has arguably put Chelsea in front of Arsenal in terms of how you're looking at teams ah in the running and placing the favourites. You would say Liverpool definitely out in front, but Chelsea coming up on the blindside at the minute and against the odds. Marescas settled things down at Chelsea, having that big squad and they look like they they could do something this season, which would be unexpected. I think We know they're two massive clubs aren't they Liverpool and Chelsea but I don't think anyone would have really expected them after 15 games to be the top two. We would have probably expected what we've seen in the last two seasons, Arsenal and Manchester City vying for the title.
00:19:27
Speaker
Manchester City seem seem a bit off and Arsenal have to be able to take advantage of that and not the best of weekends for them necessarily having not taken advantage of Liverpool not playing not taking advantage of Manchester City dropping points as well but for Fulham as I said this is ah in the middle of a run now against tough opposition three games in the space of a week against the teams I've mentioned and they've they've come away with five points and are in the top half of the table such as the nature of the Premier League this season. They start the weekend in six and they've dropped to tenth despite having the positive result against Arsenal.
Defensive Standouts Under Pressure
00:20:03
Speaker
Bournemouth securing a late win a go and above and Brentford had a positive result at home as well so it changes so quickly now and you know there's a lot of teams a lot of teams jockeying for position they feel they're involved in in a scrap for Europe and
00:20:16
Speaker
I think this was an impressive performance in a different way from what we've seen. We've seen Fulham in a lot of games, win on XG, have lots of chances on goal, play free flow in football. It was anything but that. They are playing against a very good side. One of the best teams in Europe, not just in in England. and They had to be on their metal, rear guard display, soaking up a lot of pressure, dealing with balls coming in the box, dealing with a threat of free kicks and corners. and You always feel that Arsenal are going to score at some stage, the pressure will tell, um but they did well to regroup and not go under after they did get that equalising goal. So all credit to them. and it
00:20:58
Speaker
Marco Silva said it's it's been a tough week, three games in the space of eight days, but they showed great fighting spirit and commitment. Wasn't their best game on the ball. he He was honest enough to admit that. And that was slight frustration that when they got the goal lead, they couldn't create more chances, more opportunities. And like we saw them do at the Etihad, like we saw them do at Tottenham.
00:21:19
Speaker
But that's credit to the opposition as well. they so They were able to stifle them and not necessarily give them that time on the ball. I thought Declan Wright had a good game for Arsenal in doing that. And his delivery by and large from those those corners was was excellent. And we know defensively, okay, they missed. They're missing a couple of players, but Saliba is a top draw center. off So he's you're not going to get much change against him. So he praised the organization and the fact that they stuck with the plan.
00:21:45
Speaker
and he was asked the question about Anthony Robinson as well and he he just praised him further saying what top player he is a great professional and that he's improving season by season so yeah the tough games keep coming Anfield next week some more selection dilemmas with Calvin Bassey out suspended for that game but it's one that Fulham can go into. Again, a little bit like the Arsenal game where the expectation is on Liverpool. Very positive week for Fulham. Five points from those three games. I don't think anyone can have any complaints about that.
00:22:22
Speaker
Right, I think we've covered everything in terms of Fulham v Arsenal. Next up is that tricky one ah away at Anfield. The build up to that begins with our next episode which will come out later on in the week. We hope you can all tune in for that. See you next time.
00:22:43
Speaker
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