Arsenal vs Fulham: When the Gunners Open Fire
(Baonghean.vn) - Temporarily putting aside the 1-5 defeat to Liverpool in the previous round, Arsenal is aiming for a victory to somewhat salvage their reputation, as well as to squeeze into the top 4 as in this round they only have to meet Fulham - a weak team currently second to last in the rankings.
This is the best opportunity for the Gunners to win all 3 points when Man Utd with a series of 3 consecutive wins is breathing down their necks while Chelsea is 5 points behind, and Tottenham is 7 points behind, not too big a gap.
But if Arsenal cannot take advantage of this opportunity, it will be extremely difficult to break into the top 4 for the rest of the season, because the teams above are all in good form and have started to get into the swing of things, so there is no reason for Unai Emery and his team to lose points against a weak opponent like Fulham.
On the other hand, Fulham is currently ranked 19th on the rankings, after 20 rounds they only have 14 points, 4 points more than the bottom team Huddersfield, if they cannot improve this poor performance, the game in the most prestigious tournament on the planet of Claudio Ranieri and his team will end, so traveling to Emirates, Fulham is determined to get points against Arsenal, at least 1 point.
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| The sadness of Fulham players. Photo: Zing.vn |
Returning to the match, Arsenal was still rated higher thanks to their quality players and playing at home, so right after referee Graham Scott blew the whistle to start the match, Arsenal players in their traditional red shirts, white shorts and white socks rushed to attack, pushing Fulham back to their home field with quick coordination between Lacazete and Ambameyang.
In midfield, Arsenal's central midfield duo Xhaka and Guendouzi controlled the ball well but Arsenal players could not penetrate Fulham's penalty area.
Although they controlled the ball a lot, the team with the most dangerous chances was Fulham. In the 14th minute, Sesegnon dribbled the ball at speed on the left wing, past two players in red shirts before curling the ball into the far corner of the goalkeeper's goal... But unfortunately, the ball went just wide of the goal.
In another situation, Arsenal advanced on the left wing and received a favorable pass in the penalty area. Swiss player Xhaka took advantage of the opportunity to score the opening goal for Arsenal in the 24th minute. In the following minutes, Arsenal still controlled the ball but did not create many opportunities. Fulham attacked weakly. They only had one more header from the player wearing the number 9 shirt, Mitrovic, but could not defeat Arsenal goalkeeper Leno.
In the final minutes of the match, the Gunners had a chance to increase the score to 2-0 but Ambameyan's header went just wide of the post.
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| Xhaka scored the opening goal for Arsenal. Photo: Zing.vn |
End of first half: Arsenal temporarily leads Fulham with a score of 1-0, the player who scored was Xhaka.
Entering the second half, Fulham pushed up the game in search of an equalizer, but all attacks were inaccurate or blocked by Arsenal defenders.
In the 54th minute, from an attack on the left wing, Arsenal players coordinated like in a training session. After a few passes, Lacazette shot past goalkeeper Rico, doubling the gap for Arsenal.
It must also be said that coach Unai Emery was right to put the small player Toreira on the field to replace Mustafi. The presence of this player on the field made the Gunners' playing style more flexible, coherent and their attacks very bright.
On Fulham's side, striker Mitrovich still appeared alone, leading by 2 goals, Unai Emery's team showed complacency and they had to pay the price when Kamara scored, the score was shortened to 2-1 for Fulham.
In the 79th minute, in an attacking situation, Arsenal's substitute Ramsey scored to raise the score to 3-1 for the Gunners.
When the match time was running out, Arsenal players mainly kept the ball in their home field and coordinated with each other when there were enough players in the away field, and in one of those situations in the 83rd minute, striker number 14 Ambameyang once again shot past goalkeeper Rico, raising the score to 4-1 for Arsenal.
In the 90+3 minute, referee Graham Scott blew the whistle to end the match.
Arsenal won 4 - 1.
GOAL
Arsenal: Xhaka (25'), Lacazette (55'), Ramsey (79'), Aubameyang (83')Fulham: Kamara (70')
LINEUP
Arsenal:Leno, Papastathopoulos, Koscielny, Mustafi (Lucas Torreira 46'), Maitland-Niles, Guendouzi, Xhaka, Kolasinac, Iwobi (Saka 83'), Aubameyang, Lacazette (Ramsey 75').
Fulham:Sergio Rico, Odoi, Le Marchand, Ream, Christie (Fosu-Mensah 55'), Cairney, Cisse (Seri 61'), Bryan, Schuerrle (Kamara 61'), Mitrovic, Ryan Sessegnon.