Arsenal were made to wait until the 97th minute to earn a draw against a relegation-threatened Fulham side. Elsewhere, Manchester United scored thrice in the second half to beat Burnley and consolidate their position on the league table.
There was plenty of VAR drama at the Emirates, as Arsenal drew 1-1 against relegation-threatened Fulham. The Gunners had a couple of goals ruled out before they were finally able to score the decisive one with just seconds remaining on the clock. The draw, meanwhile, pushed Fulham further towards another relegation, especially with results elsewhere also going against them.
Mikel Arteta’s side nearly took the lead within the first two minutes, with Gabriel Martinelli going close. The youngster was sent through on goal by Alexandre Lacazette via a lofted pass but could only lift his shot wide of the post. The Gunners did have the ball in the net in the 40th minute. Dani Ceballos thought he had scored his first league goal when he headed a Hector Bellerin cross past Alphonse Areola in goal. However, the strike was controversially ruled out due to Bukayo Saka being offside in the build-up.
Arsenal had a second goal ruled out for offside before the half-time whistle. Martinelli saw his pass across the penalty box hit Joachim Andersen and creep into the net. Nonetheless, Emile Smith Rowe was offside earlier in the same phase of play. Fulham took the lead in the 59th minute against the run of play. Josh Maja scored from the spot to give Scott Parker’s side the lead after Ola Aina had been fouled inside the box. Once again, there was VAR controversy in the build-up. But this time the goal stood.
Arteta’s team continued to pile the pressure on Fulham. Nicholas Pepe, Saka, and Martinelli all saw their efforts either saved by Areola or miss the target by a whisker. The Gunners were ultimately rewarded for their persistence in the seventh minute of added time when substitute Eddie Nketiah scored following a corner. The result leaves Fulham six points away from safety, having played a game more than 17th placed Burnley. Arsenal remains ninth in the table but could fall to 11th if other results don’t go their way.
Manchester United took on Burnley in the later game, hoping to complete a double over their opponents. Sean Dyche’s men held a positive recent record at Old Trafford and were full of confidence right from the start. That much became evident when Chris Wood scored just ten seconds into the match. However, the New Zealand international was offside in the build-up and had his goal chalked off.
Both sides tried their best to take the lead in the first half but to no avail. Burnley went close again through Wood while Bruno Fernandes tried to open up their defence at the other end. The breakthrough came in the second half for Manchester United when Mason Greenwood scored. The youngster continued his fine form of late by finishing past the Burnley goalkeeper with a first-time shot, following the pass by Marcus Rashford.
Nevertheless, United’s lead lasted less than a minute as James Tarkowski equalized at the other end. The Burnley defender rose highest following a corner to put his side back level. United persisted and retook the lead close to the end of the second half. Greenwood’s strike deflected off Jack Cork and went past Bailey Peacock-Farrell in goal. Edinson Cavani sealed the points for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when he tapped the ball in from close range in the stoppage time.
United moved ten points clear of Leicester City and are now favourites to finish second behind Manchester City.
