Fulham manager Marco Silva has expressed disappointed at his side’s display following their 2-1 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates on Tuesday night.
The Cottagers were unbeaten against the Gunners since 2023, although they had never won at the Emirates in the Premier League.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal dominated the early proceedings and took a deserved first half lead through makeshift striker Mikel Merino, who scored his sixth goal in his last ten matches with a deflected strike.
Fulham struggled to get into the game in the first half with hopes of bouncing back from last weekend’s loss to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup quarterfinal fading.
“It wasn’t a good game from us. Arsenal deserved to win. It was not a good first half and it was difficult when they took control.
Even in the first 10 minutes we looked like we were not aggressive enough, not doing the right moves”, Silva said.
England international Bukayo Saka who made his return from a three-month absence with injury as a second half substitute, doubled Arsenal’s lead in the second half after brilliant buildup play, before Rodrigo Muniz missed a chance to reduce the deficit for the visitors.
The Brazilian forward however scored late in stoppage time to set up a tense finish to the game although the Gunners were able to seal a much-deserved victory.
“We had the ball but not with the attacking aggression we need to have. The second goal makes a massive impact, it’s clear we have to try to stop that”, a frustrated Marco Silva stated after the match.
“The reaction after that was good, the subs had impact on the game, but it was a bit too late.”
Fulham have now gone 32 games without a win in a league match at the Emirates and will hope to bounce back from two straight defeats, when they host league leaders Liverpool on Sunday.
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