Fulham 0-1 Arsenal: Match Review

Summary: A rare Per Mertesacker goal was enough for Arsenal to overcome Fulham at Craven Cottage and move up to third in the Premier League table.

Arsene Wenger’s men toiled for much of the game to break down a resolute Cottagers side, who were reduced to 10-men just before the quarter hour.

The Gunners had started brightly and were handed a significant advantage when Steve Sidwell was shown a red card for nasty foul on Mikel Arteta that saw him go over the top of the ball and catch the Spaniard.

But that didn’t hinder Martin Jol’s side as they continued to frustrate the visitors until the unmarked Mertesacker nodded them into the lead two minutes before the break after Laurent Koscielny had returned Theo Walcott’s deep free kick.

Fulham struggled to fashion any clear cut opportunities in the second half although they did have the ball in the net late on when Stanislav Manolev tapped in after Wojciech Szczesny palmed Kieron Richardson’s free kick into his path.

Arsenal clung on to move above Tottenham and Chelsea in the table, but ended the game a man light after Oliver Giroud was shown a straight red card in injury time by referee Andre Marriner for a bad tackle on Manolev.

Martin Jol post match…”I would not have given the red card [against Steve Sidwell] but I am not subjective. I think it was a mistimed tackle but he caught the guy. It wasn’t his intention. It spoiled the game a bit but we fought like lions and had better chances than them.”

Arsene Wenger post match…”We had a positive first half but in the second half we became sloppy with our passing and played with less pace to our game. You have to give Fulham credit; they are a good side and they played very well. It became hard in the second half. We played with the handbrake on and tried to keep the lead without taking risks.”

Good day for…Per Mertesacker: Definitely a game to remember for the German defender as he notched the Arsenal winner just before half time and also played a key role preventing Fulham from getting a sniff at goal and earning a clean sheet.

Bad day for…Steve Sidwell: Sent off after just 12 minutes for a rash and reckless foul on Mikel Arteta. Made a difficult task much steeper for Fulham with the dismissal coming on his return from suspension.