Arsenal and Fulham played out to a 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium in a thrilling encounter that saw both teams concede goals from mistakes they could have avoided.
Fulham took the early lead in the first minute of the game when Andreas Pereira capitalized on a poor Bukayo Saka pass and sent a shot towards the Arsenal goal that beat Aaron Ramsdale.
After going a goal down, Arsenal were required to quickly settle into the game. They did so and enjoyed up to 80% of the ball but had nothing to show for it for the first half of the match.
Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and captain Martin Odegard all had chances to shoot at goal but Fulham’s keeper Bernd Leno, who is a former Arsenal player, was comfortable saving all their shots but firmly holding on to some and punching away others.
Leandro Trossard, whose start has been demanded by Arsenal fans, had a quiet first half and was substituted for Eddie Nketiah at the interview as Mikel Arteta tried to improve his team’s attack line.
It was an Arsenal affair for the biggest part of the half and their pressure paid off in the 70th minute when Fulham defender Kenny Tete fouled Fabio Vieira in the area and Saka calmly converted the penalty to draw Arsenal level.
Two minutes later, Nketiah paid off Arteta’s faith in him when he tapped home from close range Fabio Vieira’s pinpoint cross to give Arsenal the lead and send the Emirates into a wild roar.
Things looked like they went from bad to worse when Calvin Bassey was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Nketiah in the 83rd minute but they found an equaliser four minutes later through Joao Palhinha.
The nine minutes of added time were not enough to separate the two sides so they shared the points.
