Whites finally conquer the Gunners in a wet Cottage finale

Fulham 2-1 Arsenal

If you forget Newcastle, and delete the second half of the Burnley match and the whole of the Bournemouth fandango, Fulham ended the year gloriously with a long-awaited victory over the Arsenal.

This triumph was not dulled by controversy. VAR went almost unnoticed and the few doubtful decisions favoured the losing side. Bernd Leno was booked for timewasting whilst the two Gunners equally or more at fault escaped punishment and William Saliba could easily have been sent off for crudely denying Harry Wilson a late opportunity to score. Saliba had the nerve to protest against his yellow.

Yet the game could scarcely have started worse for the home side. A foray by Timothy Castagne left Fulham’s right flank exposed and David Raya sent Gabriel Martinelli speeding towards our goal. Then my view was obscured by latecomers, after which I heard distant cheers and saw the Arsenal players celebrating.

The TV replay showed that in saving from Martinelli, Leno had deflected the ball straight to Bukayo Saka with inevitable consequences. Two of my pet niggles had coincided – late arriving spectators who dawdle in the gangway and Premier League goalkeepers averse to catching or smothering the ball. In fairness, I should add that the Hammersmith end gave its support to Leno both before and after the goal.

Was this going to be a long and painful afternoon? Thankfully the Whites responded with a series of attacks. Raul Jimenez could not quite finish off a superb move involving Tom Cairney, Willian and Antonee Robinson nor could he reach Alex Iwobi’s powerful centre but he did find the net in the 29th minute.

After Calvin Bassey robbed Saka, Joao Palhinha sparked a Willian-Cairney breakaway on the left that concluded with Cairney finding Jimenez unmarked and perfectly placed to beat Raya. Though neither defence was particularly secure there were no further goals before the break.

Heavens open

Saka continued to be the main threat to Fulham in the second half but the breakthrough was made by Fulham, who forced two successive corners.

Andreas Pereira’s second caused panic in Arsenal’s ranks and Bobby DeCordova-Reid prodded the ball out of Raya’s reach. The Gunners’ keeper did save a Tom Cairney special just before a cloudburst proceeded to saturate players, officials and many spectators.

But nothing could mar Fulham’s victory, which might have been even more decisive had Wilson not been unfairly challenged and had Pereira not hit the crossbar with the resultant free kick.

Though angry with his players the Arsenal manager was unstinting in his praise for the victors. Perhaps a 2-1 home victory should not seem so special, but it does involve our historical nemesis. This result has given the players and the supporters an appreciable lift and it rounds off a remarkable year for the club.  

January 2024 will not be easy – three cup matches and PL games against Chelsea and a wounded Everton. Regulars Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi will be absent on international duty but Marco Silva and the rest of the squad look more than ready for the fray.