Fulham manager Marco Silva has explained why beating Arsenal is now �going to be harder� for his squad when the rivals clash in the Premier...
Fulham manager Marco Silva has explained why beating Arsenal is now �going to be harder� for his squad when the rivals clash in the Premier League on New Year�s Eve.
The Cottagers will welcome the Gunners to west London this Sunday for their final fixture of 2023. Arsenal can end the year atop the Premier League table with a win but entered round 20 in second place. Their title rivals Liverpool will host Newcastle United on New Year�s Day.
Arsenal trail Liverpool by two points after 19 matches after losing 2-0 at home to West Ham United last time out. Tomas Soucek scored a controversial opening goal before Konstantinos Mavropanos hit on his return to Emirates Stadium. It marked Arsenal�s third loss this season.
Marco Silva sees areas for Fulham to �exploit� against Arsenal
Silva now expects a tougher test when Fulham host Arsenal on Sunday as Mikel Arteta�s side will strive to respond. The Cottagers coach sees areas to �exploit� in the north London giants� team. But he accepts that �top, top sides� do not generally endure poor results back-to-back.
�We know what we are going to face, what they are capable to do and things that we can exploit,� he told Sky Sports. �If you ask me, it is going to be harder because they will want to bounce back. Top, top sides do not normally have two results in a row that are not positive.
�So, probably because of that, it is going to be harder because they�ll want to bounce back. But, at the same time, we want to bounce back and get back to winning ways again. We want this. It is our aim and goal.�
Arsenal have only endured back-to-back defeats once this season
Arsenal have bounced back from most of their defeats this term with a win to support Silva�s concern for Fulham. Arteta�s side have only endured back-to-back losses in all competitions once this season. They lost 1-0 at Newcastle United after a 3-1 EFL Cup defeat at West Ham.
RC Lens dealt the Gunners their first defeat of the term in the Champions League in October. But Arsenal responded by taking their first win over Manchester City in the Premier League since 2015. Nathan Ake inadvertently deflected Gabriel Martinelli�s shot in for the only goal.
Arsenal also reacted to losing at Newcastle by beating Sevilla 2-0 in the Champions League and then beating Burnley 3-1 in the top-flight. But the Gunners could only secure a 1-1 draw at PSV Eindhoven after losing 1-0 at Aston Villa. They would then beat Brighton 2-0, though.
