Why have Arsenal struggled against Fulham in recent meetings?

Arsenal's lengthy wait for a fourth Premier League title hasn't been down to their inability to beat the very best under Mikel Arteta.

The Gunners haven't tasted defeat to a member of the so-called 'Big Six' since April 2023. Their record was close to imperious last season, yet it was Manchester City who claimed a fourth-straight.

While the boss rather modestly noted that his side are capable of "competing consistently with really high standards against any kind of opposition" ahead of the 1-0 win over Chelsea before the March break, this Gunners outfit are prone to lapses. They turn it on against the elite, but slip-ups against Premier League middlers have proven costly in recent charges.

Last season, Arsenal dropped points in ten games. There were respectable draws at the Etihad and Anfield, as well as slender and controversial defeats at St. James' Park and Villa Park. Off days can occur, even when you're gunning for the title, and succumbing in these sorts of environments is far from blasphemous. However, what Arsenal couldn't afford to do was take a mere point from a possible six against a middling Fulham outfit.

Arsenal haven't beaten Fulham in over two years

It seems harsh to label any Premier League outfit as "mediocre" in this day and age given the strength of the division and the quality which pervades from top to bottom. Marco Silva's Cottagers, however, were the steadiest of Eddies last season.

A 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture back in November means we haven't claimed victory over Fulham since Leandro Trossard went berserk with a trio of first-half assists in a 3-0 win back in March 2023. That was a time when Arteta's burgeoning outfit appeared utterly unstoppable on their way to destined Premier League glory before it all went wrong.

Our next visit to Craven Cottage in December 2023 was one of the nadirs of last season. The bout arrived in what many a continental coach would describe as a "bad moment", although Fulham entered the game off the back of three-straight league defeats in which they'd failed to score. An early Bukayo Saka strike should've been the start of a rout, but Arsenal instead rested on their laurels and succumbed to a 2-1 defeat. Raul Jimenez scored on his return to the side before Bobby De Cordova Reid netted a scrappy second half winner. The Gunners struggled to lay a glove on the hosts in the aftermath.

Before that, in August 2023, Arsenal failed to make the most of a +2.6 expected goals advantage, as well as Calvin Bassey's sending off, in a crushing 2-2 draw. Joao Palhinha headed home from a corner late on after the Gunners had rallied from Andreas Pereira's freak early opener.

Thomas Partey was up to his old tricks at right-back again, while speculation linking Gabriel with a move to Saudi Arabia meant Jakub Kiwior started alongside William Saliba.

Kiwior, a huge downgrade on Arteta's starting options, was in the XI again last time out as Fulham made the most of their one moment in attack. Jimenez outwitted the Pole and finished superbly on the counter to hand the hosts an early lead, and the game state played into their hands. Nevertheless, after Saliba equalised from a corner, Saka had what could've been a significant late winner ruled out following VAR intervention. Gabriel Martinelli strayed offside in the build-up.

The December outing supplied further evidence of Arsenal's fallibility against a deep-lying defence. They'd been shut out the week before by Everton at home, and Fulham's cohesive mid-block proved stifling. 0.86 of Arsenal's total 1.8 xG that day came via Saliba's goal, while Thomas Partey and Kai Havertz both missed good chances from set-pieces.

Marco Silva deserves his flowers for Fulham success

Arsenal won each of their games on the xG front, but it'd be doing Silva's side a disservice to suggest the Gunners were deserving winners across the board. Fulham rode their luck in last season's 2-2 draw but did an excellent job limiting Arteta's side in the two most recent meetings at Craven Cottage.

They enter Tuesday's clash at the Emirates off the back of a miserable FA Cup exit, but they're nonetheless on course for their best Premier League finish in over a decade despite losing midfield lynchpin Palhinha in the summer.

This Arsenal-infused outfit are well-coached and impressively balanced. Athletic and physical defenders allow them to defend transitions, as well as their box, effectively, with their sound possession dynamics facilitating exciting forays forwards. They can attack down both flanks and are cross-heavy.

Arteta's side will encounter a familiar-looking mid-block, with Fulham excellent at keeping sides at arm's length. Rarely do they succumb to sustained pressure - only four teams have allowed fewer opposition touches in the box this season - and their average possession share ranks just behind Arsenal's. They've been able to control games with the ball this term and are sound enough structurally to prevent counter-attacks. According to Opta, Silva's side have conceded just 17 'fast break shots' and conceded just three 'fast break goals' - joint-third lowest in the league in both metrics.

Overall, I wouldn't go as far as saying Arsenal have a 'Fulham problem' as such, but their recent meetings against the Cottagers have shown that Arteta's penchant for control is occasionally not enough given the quality which sweeps across the Premier League. These bouts have brought out the very worst of the Gunners, with poor transition defending and a lack of a killer touch in the box proving costly.

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