Arsenal stumble at Fulham after Saka’s late strike ruled out for offside

The good news is that it was better for Arsenal than last season. The bad news is that their run of successive wins was ended at four and they spurned an opportunity to apply pressure to the leaders Liverpool. And worse, they were denied an 89th‑minute winner by a tight – but correct – VAR offside call.

“Emotionally that was tough,” Mikel Arteta said of the decision. He maintained his recent policy, though, of stressing the need for Arsenal to improve and take responsibility rather than looking for excuses, even if this was the eighth different back four he has named this season.

“You cannot cry about it,” Arteta said. “It’s the reality. We absolutely deserved to win the match from the beginning to the end. We did almost everything we had to do to win it. We have to look at those margins and see what can we do so the opponent has zero chance.”

Liverpool may feel that, with six players out injured and ­Everton ­having put four past Wolves on Wednesday, the postponement of the Merseyside derby on Saturday provided a welcome break before the rigours of the festive programme. But it also gave Arsenal the opportunity to cut the gap to four points which, even having played a game more, does not seem anywhere near as daunting as seven. As it is, the gap is six points and Liverpool have a game in hand. Everything at the moment is coming up Arne Slot.

It was this fixture last season that inflicted decisive damage on ­Arsenal’s title challenge. When the margin to the champions at the end of the season is as narrow as two points, all slip-ups are vital, but it was this game on New Year’s Eve that seemed most significant, all the more so as it came on the back of an unexpected 2-0 home defeat against West Ham. What happened at Craven Cottage, though, was worse, if only because Arsenal went ahead after five ­minutes and seemed comfortable before Raúl Jiménez’s equaliser and their ­subsequent collapse.

The impact may not be as great this season – and given how well Fulham are playing at the moment, there can be no assumption of away victory against them for any side – but, still, it was impossible to avoid the sense of stalling momentum. ­Arsenal have been much-improved since the return of Martin Ødegaard four games ago but there seemed a danger of them ­faltering again as Jiménez put Fulham ahead after 11 minutes. To an extent the damage was self‑inflicted as Jakub Kiwior drifted ­inexplicably towards the ball, ­offering the ­opportunity for Kenny Tete to slide a pass through for ­Jiménez to finish with crisp authority. Much of that first period went exactly as you ­imagine Marco Silva planned it: Arsenal ­having the bulk of possession but creating very little.

Sasa Lukic, operating alongside the imperious Sander Berge, was central to that. He is a player so much happier out of possession than he is with the ball that you can almost feel the relief among Fulham fans when he is ­tackled because that means he can get on with what he is best at: lunging in to win it back. The two full-backs also excelled, Antonee Robinson ­restricting Saka as well as anybody has this season, while Tete had a rather easier time against Leandro Trossard then Gabriel Martinelli, ­neither of whom are at their best at the moment.

Silva seemed slightly frustrated at how his side played in the second half as Arsenal pushed them back. “On the ball, this was not our best game,” he said. “We were not able to take the right decisions. The mindset was not to take risks.”

Still, the draw represented a solid afternoon’s work. Fulham’s other first-half success was in negating Arsenal’s dead-ball threat in large part because of the way Adama Traoré, stationed at the back post next to William Saliba, was able to intercept his man with one chunky forearm, preventing him making a run across the goalkeeper. Perhaps his holding isn’t strictly legal but then a lot of what happens at corners these days isn’t; the whole 18-yard box has become a vast grey area.

However, there is a reason Arsenal fans sing the name of their set-piece coach Nicolas Jover. The first corner Arsenal got in the second half was aimed not at one of the big ­defenders but deeper, to Kai Havertz. He headed down and Saliba, coming into the ­centre, shrugged off Traoré and, remaining a fraction onside, turned the ball in, Arsenal’s 23rd goal from a corner since the start of last season.

Thomas Partey put a header just wide from another corner. Other than the late Saka header that might have pinched it had ­Martinelli remained onside, Arsenal’s threat remained largely restricted to set‑pieces. Which is not really a criticism: having been for a long time a side who seemed to have to dominate games to win them, they now have a means of winning even when the rhythm isn’t quite upon them, or against sides who defend as well as Fulham did.

Still, perhaps it would be worth investing in an open-play coach as good as Jover.