Fulham vs Arsenal - Key takeaways for Gunners following win at Craven Cottage

Fulham v Arsenal – Premier League

Arsenal scored thrice in their first London derby of the season as they won 3-1 against Fulham at Craven Cottage.

The Gunners dominated the game from start to finish and were a real force when going forward. Here is a reflection on their performance:

1. Arsenal’s strike force is still good enough even if they don’t get in any strikers

There has been much talk over Arsenal needing reinforcements in the forward position, a 20-goal-a-season striker, Olivier Giroud not living up to the fans’ expectations.

But as it can be seen since the start of the pre-season, the Gunners don’t really lack at all in the goals department, netting three times at Craven Cottage and the same number of goals during midweek in Turkey.

Olivier Giroud has had a spectacular start to his second year at Arsenal, finding the net 8 times in 7 pre-season games and 3 times in 3 games since the start of the season. The Frenchman is slowly looking like the striker Wenger hoped would replace the Dutchman (who went up the road), with his increasingly good performances.

Olivier Giroud

Despite the good form of Arsenal’s number 12, Arsenal do need to get one striker who can challenge him for his place and provide a good backup.

Till that time, Giroud, with the likes of Podolski, Walcott and Cazorla around him, form a deadly strike force for the Gunners. The four of them combined to score a total of 66 goals last season and this season, we can expect more to flood in.

If they remain fit, this can prove to be a really high scoring season for Arsenal.

2. Ramsey has a big season ahead

Aaron Ramsey

Aaron Ramsey, for the past couple of seasons, has been under much criticism from the Arsenal fans as he failed to show any signs of being the exciting player that they thought he would be before his horrific injury.

But things have changed since the latter half of last season. The Welshman has been an integral part of the starting XI and has fixed himself a starting place in the Arsenal side with solid performances.

Ramsey has finally found his right position in central midfield and did a great job yesterday with another Man of the Match display against Fulham, after earning a lot of praise for his midweek performance in Istanbul.

This could turn out to be Ramsey’s big season. The former Wales skipper is slowly becoming a fan favourite and the Arsenal faithful can’t wait for a Ramsey-Wilshere (already a fan favourite) partnership.

The two of them, running like engines, along with their vision and dribbling ability, form a Xavi-Iniesta-esque duo, which is really exciting to look out for.

3. Arsenal’s main priority should be a defensive midfielder

Arsenal are unstoppable going forward but when it comes down to the other end, they’re always struggling to cope up with the repeated attacks at the back.

The Gunners have a world class back four in Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny and Gibbs, but the problem comes with the fact that they don’t have a proper cover to protect them.

The likes of Arteta, Ramsey, Wilshere and Rosicky ahead of them are all attack-minded players and are always looking to get forward. They need someone in there whose first job is to provide defensive cover and go in with tackles and make important interceptions.

Against Fulham, it could be seen that Arsenal are quite vulnerable when defending their own goal. If against a lacklustre Fulham side they managed to concede one, then when they face the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and other top teams, this weakness of theirs can be easily exploited.

Arsenal have been linked with the likes of Victor Wanyama and Luiz Gustavo but have failed to land any of them. A defensive-minded midfielder should be on top of their list, and they should aim to add one sooner rather than later in the ten remaining days of the transfer window.

Conclusion

Arsenal have a promising season ahead. With the Champions League qualification almost done, the Gunners must now look to end their frustrating drought of a trophy this season.

If the club can get in a few good players and improve the squad in depth, it could actually be their season.

Next match – Arsenal vs Fenerbahce (The Emirates, Tuesday 19:45 GMT, UCL Playoffs 2nd leg).

COYG!