Arsenal 2-2 Fulham: 3 talking points as Gunners share spoils

Arsenal dropped their first points of the Premier League season as, again, sloppy errors allowed Fulham to sneak away with a share of the spoils.

In what has become something that has happened with increasing regularity, Arsenal allowed a team to score inside the opening minute as Andreas Pereira made Bukayo Saka pay for a misplaced pass.

The Gunners then looked to get back into their groove. Still, it took until the second half to do it as Saka slotted home from the spot as Fabio Vieira was fouled in the area, and then just minutes later, Eddie Nketiah again got himself on the scoresheet.

https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1695506555523735932?s=20

As it looked like Arsenal was heading for three consecutive wins to start the season, a corner from Fulham somehow found its way to Joao Palhinha, who managed to get his shot past Aaron Ramsdale to give the visitors a share of the spoils at the Emirates.

Arsenal 2-2 Fulham: 3 talking points as Gunners share spoils

The game provided plenty of talking points, here they are.

1. Preseason mistakes float into the regular season

During Arsenal’s preseason schedule, several individual mistakes led to goals, and while it was “only pre-season”, many hoped they wouldn’t happen when the real stuff rolled around.

Well, they have, and I don’t want to be too harsh on Saka as he has done wonderful things for the club, but it was his misplaced pass that set the tone for the afternoon. He made up for it, though, with his penalty.

Additionally, to concede from a corner as Arsenal did is not something fans have received well. It is only small things, but in the Premier League, teams are good enough to take advantage, and Fulham did just that.

Continued on the next slide…