Late at night on December 31, 2023, Beijing time, in the 20th round of the English Premier League, Arsenal was reversed 1-2 away by Fulham, suffering two consecutive defeats in the league, and only 1 win, 1 draw and 3 losses in the last five rounds.
You must know that Fulham have not been a strong team this season, and their recent form has not been good, losing 0-3, 0-2, 0-3 to Bournemouth, Burnley and Newcastle United in the previous three rounds. It was a surprise to be able to complete the comeback when Arsenal scored the first goal.
In the last round of the league, Arsenal played West Ham United at home, and the team was arguably dominant, with 74% possession and 30-6 shots on goal, but in the end they lost the game 0-2. And in this game with Fulham, Arsenal's performance was not even good. Arsenal had just 13 shots on goal in the game, trailing Fulham's 15. Boss Mikel Arteta believes it was Arsenal's worst game so far this season.
Arteta said after the game: 'Pain, that's how I sum it up. We had a chance to be at the top of the table with the consistency we showed after 20 games, but we didn't play well enough today to win the game. Three days ago, we lost a game that we deserved, but today it was a very different story. ”
Arsenal's recent performance can't help but remind people of the final stage of the Premier League last season, when Arsenal only won 2 out of 8 rounds and finally lost the title qualification. In the current Premier League standings, Arsenal are fourth, only one point ahead of Tottenham Hotspur behind them, while Manchester City, who have a game less and 40 points, are in third place. Fortunately, Arsenal is currently only two points behind Liverpool, who have one game less and are in first place, and the gap is not big.
This season's Premier League has been extremely competitive, with the top spot changing hands 14 times so far. In addition to Liverpool, who have performed strongly this season, and Manchester City, who have just won the Club World Cup, Aston Villa have also become the "spoilers" of the Premier League this season. Arsenal have lost two games they "deserve" but are still in the title race.
Of course, the team has once again hit a 'low point of form', and the back-to-back defeats have also made the atmosphere a little anxious, and there seemed to be a quarrel between Rice and Gabriel in yesterday's game. If Arsenal are to win the title, there are many more problems for manager Mikel Arteta to solve.