By Bulldog Drummond
We’ve talked so much about Arsenal’s current run of form, let’s have a look at what it has been like for our next challengers. Fulham at the Cottage.
Here’s their form thus far…
| Date | Game | Res | Score | Competition |
| 11 Aug 2018 | Fulham v Crystal Palace | L | 0-2 | Premier League |
| 18 Aug 2018 | Tottenham Hotspur v Fulham | L | 3-1 | Premier League |
| 26 Aug 2018 | Fulham v Burnley | W | 4-2 | Premier League |
| 28 Aug 2018 | Fulham v Exeter City | W | 2-0 | League Cup |
| 01 Sep 2018 | Brighton and Hove v Fulham | D | 2-2 | Premier League |
| 04 Sep 2018 | Oxford United v Fulham | L | 3-0 | Football League Trophy |
| 15 Sep 2018 | Manchester City v Fulham | L | 3-0 | Premier League |
| 18 Sep 2018 | Wycombe Wanderers v Fulham | L | 2-1 | Football League Trophy |
| 22 Sep 2018 | Fulham v Watford | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
| 25 Sep 2018 | Millwall v Fulham | W | 1-3 | League Cup |
| 29 Sep 2018 | Everton v Fulham | L | 3-0 | Premier League |
That is 11 games with three wins, two draws and six defeats; a tough start back in the Premier League. If we take out the League Trophy (the Checkatrade) games that cuts the defeat level down to four, which makes it slightly more attractive.
Across all the games they have got 14 goals – so fractionally over one a game. But they did get a draw against Watford when Watford were a new force in the top four, making life difficult for Arsenal to attempt to get back in the Champs League spots… or so we were told before the newspaper chappies and the blog bots realised what idiots they were making of themselves.
Leaving aside the Watford game Fulham have played two games against current top four clubs, and lost both so that augers well for us.
So far they have played three home games in the League, winning 1, drawing 1 and of course losing 1. Five goals for and five against.
This compares with Arsenal who have played three away games in the league with a better set of results. Here is the league table taking into account away games only…
| os | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 12 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 7 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 6 |
What a change from last season, and exactly what was needed, as Untold suggested right from the off.
Tottenham got a special dispensation to play more away games at the start because New White Hart Lane would almost be ready for the start of the new season, but wouldn’t quite be. And of course as we know it is now perfectly ready to receive them, but they have got so used to playing somewhere else that they will in fact be back at Wembley.
If Arsenal were to beat Fulham that would mean that in four away games Arsenal would already have gathered 75% of the number of victories as they had away from home in the whole of last season in the league.
It it of course only Friday and the game ain’t until Sunday but there are already those brave enough to put forth their lineups for the match. One possibility reads
Leno
Bellerin, Mustafi, Sokratis, Monreal
Torreira, Guendouzi,
Iwobi, Ozil, Aubameyang;
Lacazette
It may well be a good idea to rest Holding after his return trip to distant parts of the continent, but he has been playing so well, he must surely be in line for a regular position in the back line next to Sokratis at some stage.
Beyond that it is hard to argue too much with the line up. Fulham have lost one game at home already, as we know, and last season they lost two at home all season, drawing eight winning the remaining 13. That is a strong home form against a club that did very badly away last season.
But as I noted above the times they are a changing somewhat. Two days before the game I’m not feeling too worried about how things are going, despite the newspapers and bloggettas doing their level best. So when it comes to the raging headline that “Unai Emery has problems to solve (that’s for sure)” from
More tomorrow.
- Arsenal were performing as though they thought the assignment was beneath them
- Arsenal’s 3 most utterly useless players at Qarabag; they should all go now
Well, we need not worry ourselves at all on Arsenal match away to Fulham on Sunday in the PL. Because there is no visible reason seen anywhere that has affected Arsenal which could make us to start worrying ourselves ahead of the match.
I believe everything concerning Arsenal preparedness for their match away to Fulham on Sunday is well in place and tightly secured.
The believes marking the round in some anti-Arsenal quarters to scare Arsenal off in their match against Fulham is, Fulham have Sari, Mitrovic and Schurrie in their arrays who can cause Arsenal to panic in the game on Sunday. But far be it, Arsenal don’t panic in games in the PL but are confident in them. And play confidently in them and win them as in evidence in their last 5 games in the PL which they’ve won all.
Even if Fulham have signed players from the Jupiter in the summer to cause havoc in the PL against opposition teams, Arsenal being the Gunners will not be shy of playing against them in their backyard and beat them there. For, Arsenal are specialists in causing defeats to the opposition teams in their backyard. And Fulham will not be the exemption to this. Because Arsenal will not exempt them from the beatings they do to teams who play in their backyard against the Gunners.
Let me wait to know first what Emery will say tomorrow Saturday when he gives the Gunners team update before I dabble into guessing his starting XI and bench for Fulham.
Wot , No Granit? Shirley not going to drop Him And Rambo..