Arsenal missed the chance to put pressure on Premier League leaders Liverpool as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Fulham.
The Gunners racked up an xG of 1.93 at Craven Cottage, but they were unable to come away with more than a single point as the hosts produced a resilient performance.
Raul Jimenez superbly fired the Cottagers 1-0 in front after 11 minutes with their sole shot on target in the first half, and Marco Silva’s team only registered one more throughout the contest.
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William Saliba steered home Kai Havertz’s knockdown to level the game on 52 minutes but Arsenal could not produce a winner.
Captain Bukayo Saka forced home Gabriel Martinelli’s cross in the dying moments, but the goal was chalked off following a VAR check, with the Brazilian fractionally offside in the build-up.
Arsenal thought they had scored a 89th-minute winner through Bukayo Saka until VAR ruled it out for offside ❌ pic.twitter.com/QuYnyk4BeH
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 8, 2024
In the context of the title race, Arsenal remain in second place, six points behind Liverpool, with the Reds playing a game less – following their postponement of their derby trip to Everton this weekend.
Arteta was frustrated at fulltime as he admitted small margins can be costly at the highest level.
“I’m very disappointed not to win, we absolutely dominated from start to finish, we did all the things we wanted to do in the game and unfortunately we conceded one goal from one shot,” he said, as per quotes from BBC Sport.
“But, the way the team played, and wanted to win, it was unbelievable and we were very unfortunate. It can millimetres to win or not win in this league and that’s the disappointing thing tonight.”
Arteta and his team have no time to digest the result, as they face a quick turnaround ahead of hosting AS Monaco in UEFA Champions League action on December 11.