Fulham fell to a 3-0 defeat on Sunday at the hands of a strong Arsenal side.
Gabriel Magalhães and Gabriel Martinelli were on target midway through the first half, before Martin Ødegaard added a third just before the break.
Marco Silva made two changes for the visit of the league leaders, with Tosin stepping in for Issa Diop at the back and Bobby De Cordova-Reid replacing Willian on the right-hand side.
Young Charlie Robinson made it onto the First Team bench for the second time this season, and he was joined by Tyrese Francois.
We were treated to a high tempo start at the Cottage, with both sides tussling for control. Martinelli tried to find centre-back Gabriel with a teasing ball towards the back post, but his cross was overhit and bounced away for a goal kick.
Bernd Leno needed to be alert soon after following a decent Arsenal move. Martinelli received the ball down the left and found the overlapping Granit Xhaka, but his attempted cross was smothered by our stopper.
Arsenal had the ball in the net a quarter-of-an-hour in, when Leno’s save from a Martinelli strike bounced against Antonee Robinson before going into his own net. Thankfully, after a VAR check, the goal was ruled out for offside.
The Gunners were on top in the opening 20 minutes. Leno got down quickly to his right to keep out an acrobatic effort from Xhaka.
Their pressure soon paid off, with defender Gabriel rising highest to head home from a Leandro Trossard corner.
Their lead was doubled not long after, through Martinelli. After a quick counter-attack, Trossard’s lofted delivery from the left was nodded in by the Brazilian.
We enjoyed our brightest spell in the following 10 minutes, keeping the ball predominantly in the Arsenal half. Manor Solomon quickly cut in from the left and took aim, but his attempt flew out for a goal kick.
Two could’ve become three with 10 minutes of the first half remaining. Xhaka cleverly left the ball for Trossard before making a smart run and receiving it back off the Belgian. He got himself tangled up and the chance disappeared.
We had Leno to thank on 44 minutes, with our ‘keeper making an excellent save to deny Martinelli his second of the afternoon. The German stuck out a strong hand to divert his strike after getting on the end of a decent Ben White cross.
Our afternoon got worse just a couple of minutes later. Trossard’s cross found Ødegaard, who cut onto his left before rifling an effort home.
A difficult opening half came to an end with our lads three goals down.
We made a rapid start after the interval and created a decent opening almost instantly. Harrison Reed’s low cross found Pereira, whose first-time shot rolled just wide. A number of our players called for hand ball, but the referee waved away any appeals.
Mitro tried his luck from range 10 minutes later, but his effort was well blocked before rolling harmlessly into the grateful hands of Aaron Ramsdale. He had Kenny Tete screaming for the ball and in space but opted to go for goal.
Arguably our biggest opportunity presented itself on 69 minutes. Pereira found De Cordova-Reid with a clever pass and his low, stinging effort was somehow kept out by Ramsdale.
Then, from the resulting corner, Mitro’s bullet header rattled the crossbar.
The Arsenal stopper was soon called into action again, punching clear Tosin’s header from a tight angle. Tete’s follow-up effort flew high and wide.
After making his return folllowing a long-term injury, Gabriel Jesus almost made it four with just over five minutes remaining. Fellow substitute Fabio Vieira powered forward before finding the frontman, whose shot was well blocked by Leno.
We saw no more major chances in the latter stages and a disappointing afternoon was soon brought to its end.
