3 positives & negatives from Arsenal's hard-fought draw at Fulham

Arsenal were denied a fourth consecutive win in the Premier League as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Fulham on Sunday afternoon.

The Gunners started the game well but it was the hosts who struck first. Raul Jimenez made a good run down the right side before tucking an effort into the bottom corner to put his side ahead. Set pieces came to the rescue once again for Mikel Arteta's side as they equalised early in the second half when William Saliba tapped home from a corner. It was all Arsenal from there and the visitors looked to have won it late on when Bukayo Saka headed in from Gabriel Martinelli's well-placed cross. VAR was on hand to deny them however as they were forced to share the points.

This result will have a huge impact on the Gunners' title hopes, and not in a good way. More dropped points means more ground lost on leaders Liverpool. Nevertheless, there were a number of positives & negatives for Arsenal to take from their draw at Fulham.

Positive #1: A dominant display

Despite not securing the win, Arsenal were by far the more dominant side at Craven Cottage. The Gunners kept Fulham under the cosh for most of the game, with the momentum majorly swaying in their favour.

Arsenal held a whopping 67% possession throughout the tie and managed 12 shots, four of those being on target. Mikel Arteta's side created four big chances with an xG of 2.00.

While they did not make the dominance pay, rather frustratingly so, it was a good performance from Arsenal. Arteta looks to have drilled it into his players that if they want to win games, they must dominate from the off. It is just a shame the Gunners couldn't go that extra mile against Fulham.

Negative #1: Not clinical enough

As was the case at Craven Cottage last season, the Gunners were no where near clinical enough with their chances against Fulham.

Out of four big chances, Arsenal scored from just one and that was a chance that had an xG of 0.94 so let's at least be thankful they netted from that. An unmarked Thomas Partey missed a clear cut opportunity for his side when he headed wide from a corner. It seemed easier for the Ghanaian to score than miss.

Arsenal were made to pay for their missed chances, having to settle for a draw. It looks as if the Gunners have taken a step forward but then straight back. They know they need to dominate games and are implementing that but are failing to produce a quality final product. It certainly cost them against Fulham.

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