Fulham And Arsenal Share Points After Saka's Late Goal Disallowed In Premier League Clash

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Arsenal's streak of victories in the Premier League ended with a 1-1 draw against Fulham, as a late goal was disallowed. Bukayo Saka appeared to have secured a win in the 88th minute at Craven Cottage. However, VAR overturned the goal due to Gabriel Martinelli being offside before crossing. This missed opportunity kept Arsenal from closing the gap on leaders Liverpool, whose match against Everton was postponed.

The Gunners have struggled defensively, failing to keep a clean sheet in their last six away matches under Mikel Arteta. This run is their longest without a clean sheet during Arteta's tenure. Despite these challenges, Arsenal managed to climb to second place with 29 points, six more than Fulham, who are ninth.

Fulham took an early lead after 11 minutes when Raul Jimenez scored following a quick counter-attack. Jimenez has consistently been Fulham's opening scorer this season, netting all five of his goals as the first in matches. Only Dimitar Berbatov and Clint Dempsey have scored more openers for Fulham in a single season.

Fulham remains unbeaten in their last nine Premier League London derbies and is the only team to avoid defeat against Arsenal since last season began. The Gunners have won just one of their last six league games away from home. William Saliba equalised for Arsenal with his sixth Premier League goal from a set-piece since last season started.

VAR played a crucial role earlier in the match by upholding Arsenal's equaliser. Saliba turned in Kai Havertz's header to level the score after Fulham had taken the lead through Jimenez. Gabriel Magalhaes has scored more set-piece goals than any other defender during this period, with ten goals.

With Chelsea facing Tottenham later that day, Arsenal aimed to strengthen their position near the top of the table. However, they missed an opportunity to close the gap on Liverpool due to VAR intervention and defensive lapses that have plagued them recently.