Opposition Focus: Arsenal

Form

29/12/18 – Liverpool 5-1 Arsenal 
26/12/18 – Brighton 1-1 Arsenal 
22/12/18 – Arsenal 3-1 Burnley 
19/12/18 – Arsenal 0-2 Tottenham (EFL CUP)
16/12/18 – Southampton 3-2 Arsenal 

Tactics

Most notably changed to a back three since the arrival of Unai Emery in the summer, with an emphasis on providing a platform for the likes of Aubameyang and Lacazette to unleash their ability on opposition defences. The arrival of Lucas Torreira has given the Gunners much more fight and aggression in the centre of the pitch – something which they have lacked for a considerable amount of time. The two behind the main striker tend to stay wider than usual in a 3-4-2-1 but this allows the wingbacks to run at the opposition both inside and outside of their fullbacks. Creating this kind of confusion for the opposing sides defenders has worked well for Arsenal so far this season and not many teams have been able to control them over the course of 90 minutes. A recent defensive injury crisis and a busy festive period may cause Arsenal some concern, as the usual rotation required around this time of year is not readily available to them at the back.

Battle to Watch

Mitrovic vs Koscielny: With the number of defenders out injured the recent return of the captain from a serious achilles injury suffered against Atletico Madrid in the semi-final of the Europa League in May has proved especially timely for Emery’s team. What we saw from Arsenal in their recent loss away at fellow relegation strugglers Southampton is that they can be vulnerable to quality deliveries into the penalty area and with Mitro around we have someone with more than enough quality to take the chances. Seeing as we will be sitting deep and playing on the break at the Emirates then this route will be definitive to our chances. If Koscielny can limit the chances for Mitro then we’ll be in trouble.

Danger Man

There’s only two to choose from when considering who will scare the Fulham players most on New Year’s Day and it’s between the duo that tore us apart in the second half at the Cottage in October. Lacazette and Aubameyang are two of the top forwards in Europe and have been for a number of years, choosing between them is difficult but the French international has returned to some of the form he showed at previous club Lyon and made himself a vital part of the side. Give him as much space and time in and around the box as our last game against Arsenal and we can kiss the points goodbye.

Last 5 Meetings

07/10/18 – Fulham 1-5 Arsenal (PL)
18/01/14 – Arsenal 2-0 Fulham (PL)
24/08/13 – Fulham 1-3 Arsenal (PL)
20/04/13 – Fulham 0-1 Arsenal (PL)
10/11/12 – Arsenal 3-3 Fulham (PL)

Head-to-Head

Fulham wins 8
Draws 10
Arsenal wins 38

Stats

  • Despite the 1-5 defeat in our last encounter with the Gunners. Fulham have won this fixture by the biggest margin, winning 6-1 at the Cottage in 1913.
  • The sides have met at the Emirates Stadium on 8 occasions. Arsenal have only failed to score once, back in 2009 in a 0-0 stalemate. 
  • Fulham have scored at least one goal in 5 of those 8 trips.
  • The Whites have never beaten Arsenal away. Our 8 victories against the Gunners have all come at Craven Cottage.
  • Since the new millenium, Fulham’s record for the first game of the calender year is 12 wins, 5 defeats & 2 draws (both 0-0).
  • The two clubs also began 2012 against eachother with Fulham coming back in the last 5 minutes to win 2-1 at the Cottage. Steve Sidwell & Bobby Zamora on the scoresheet for the Whites.
  • Our last point against Arsenal was in 2012 in a memorable 3-3 draw at the Emirates. Kacaniklic & Berbatov (brace) with the goals whilst Mark Schwarzer was the hero, saving a penalty in stoppage time to rescue the draw.

Players in Common

Luis Boa Morte, Calum Chambers, Andy Cole, John Coleman, Bill Dodgin, Andrew Ducat, Thomas Eisfeld, Emmanuel Frimpong, John Graham, Julian Gray, Junichi Inamoto, John Lambert, Archibald Macaulay, Malcolm MacDonald, Peter Marinello, Brian McDermott, Ronnie Rooke , Rui Fonte, Ian Selley, Phillipe Senderos, Steve Sidwell, Peter Storey, Brian Talbot, Bobby Templeton, Moritz Volz, Malcolm Webster.

Magic Moment

Who could forget the end-to-end, 3-3 draw at the Emirates in 2012? A game jam-packed with drama as Fulham came from two goals down to take an unexpected lead in the second half thanks to Berbatov casually stroking a penalty passed the static Vito Mannone.

But the standout moment in this game would come via a spot-kick at the other end of the pitch. With the score now 3 a piece, the Whites were holding on to a well-deserved point when Sascha Riether was harshly judged to have handled the ball in the box. Cue a moment of magic from everyone’s favourite Aussie keeper Mark Schwarzer, who guessed correctly, saving Mikel Arteta’s penalty and rescuing the Whites from what would have been a very cruel defeat.

Match Prediction

Arsenal at home against a side in the bottom half of the league – nothing to cure those New Year’s Day hangovers, it’s surely a regulation win for the Gunners. 2-0

Predicted Line-up

Rico, Christie, Odoi, Ream, MLM, Bryan, Cairney, Seri, Schürrle, Sess, Mitro.