Fulham vs. Arsenal

0-1, Premier League, Craven Cottage, 2013-04-20
Mertesacker 43

Another important three points earned, considering the fact that we were one man more on the pitch for most of the game you would have thought that they would have come easier, but three points nevertheless!

Within the first two minutes Fulham created a pretty dangerous chance as they advanced into our box and Walcott scored. Unfortunately he was flagged offside, which was a correct decision. We had a good start for the initial 10 minutes, holding 75% of the possession and clearly dominating the game. After ten minutes Cazorla was awarded with a free-kick. Walcott took it and found Koscielny, whose header went well over the bar. Not long after that chance Steve Sidwell was shown a red card as he made a reckless tackle on Arteta. Ironically this was the first game back for the Fulham midfielder, following a three-match suspension. Fortunately the Spaniard was not severely injured and could continue the game.
   Fifteen minutes into the game Walcott fired away another free-kick, this time it was on target but Schwarzer, the Fulham 'keeper, could make a comfortable save. Then it was Szczesny's turn to make the save as Berbatov unleashed a powerful shot. At the half-hour mark Walcott made a run and got a cross into the box, Schwarzer managed to reach it before any Arsenal player, though. Giroud had a decent effort toward the goal as well, he fired a low and powerful shot that went just wide of the target.
   Before the end of the half Szczesny had to make yet another decent save as Fulham got a shot away, but we had the last say of the half as Per Mertesacker scored the only goal of the game! Following a free-kick Koscielny headed the ball across the goal to his partner in our central defence, and the Big Fucking German headed the ball into the back of the net with quite some force!

For the first time in a very long time, we did not improve our game for the second half. In fact, we were undeniably worse in the second half. We appeared content and complacent with the lead, which, in turn, led to some tension at the end.
   Fulham fired a free-kick well over the bar as the half began, and just after their chance Rosicky provided a cross into the box towards Mertesacker, but a Fulham defender reached the ball first and cleared it. With twenty minutes to go Wilshere and Podolski was introduced at the expense of Walcott and Rosicky, but it made little or no difference.
   With approximately ten minutes to go Fulham scored. Fortunately for us it was offside as Szczesny left a rebound from a free-kick for Manolev to run onto. However, we continued to more or less just defend for the rest of the game, even though we had a man more on the field. That is until the 90th minute, when Giroud received a red card as he went for the ball. It was not nearly as obvious a red card as Sidwell's and should definitely not have been more than a yellow. The last chance for us came as Ramsey fired a shot wide, following a decent pass from Wilshere.

We may not have played very well in this game, apart from parts of the first half, but it is the result that matters and these three points are much needed as the season is drawing to a close. Next weekend we will face Manchester United at the Emirates and I will be flying to London to see it live! Am obviously super-excited about it and can't wait for Sunday to arrive!

Injury Update:
- Rosicky returned to the starting XI for this game, having recovered from an injury to his hamstring.
- Fabianski is still out, having received a kick in the rib in the Norwich game a couple of weeks ago.