Liverpool will have the opportunity to extend the gap at the top of the Premier League table on New Year’s Day when they face Newcastle United after Arsenal’s 2-1 loss to Fulham at Craven Cottage on New Year’s Eve.

The Gunners started the 2023/2024 Premier League season in form and were top of the table for a respectable period. However, Mikel Arteta’s side ended the year with inconsistency, and despite the fact that they went into Christmas at the top of the table, they managed to lose three games in their last six matches of the year.

Except for the 2-1 win over Brighton, Arsenal drew 1-1 with Liverpool, lost to Aston Villa and West Ham United and they were hoping to end the year with a win at fellow London rivals Fulham.

That looked like the plan when they went ahead into the lead in the game through Bukayo Saka in the fifth minute. However, Raul Jimenez equalized before the half-hour mark for the home side as they went into the break level.

Bobby De Cordova-Reid scored in the 60th minute to help Fulham break their own poor form, while Arsenal missed the opportunity to go to the top of the table. The Craven Cottagers had lost their previous three Premier League games on a trot without scoring a goal.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice took the opportunity of the defeat to demand more from his teammates, reflecting on Sunday’s defeat and midweek’s loss to West Ham United as well.

“The game against West Ham, we had 30 shots, so many touches in the box, but couldn’t put it away. Today, when we go one up, we have to have more control. We need to demand more from each other. We had to push on again and go for more. In this league, there is no room to mess up. It is a tough one to take. We dominated the ball and played good stuff, but again, we did not put the ball in the net. We knew three points would put us back on top. It is two defeats in a row. It is time to reset, and we go again.” Declan Rice said.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu