Arsenal legend Ian Wright has now admitted that the Gunners made him feel ‘nervous’ against Fulham last Saturday with Mikel Arteta’s team failing to meet his expectations.
The north London club came back from conceding after 57 seconds to lead the Cottagers 2-1 in the 72nd minute. But Joao Palhinha saved one point for his west London side in the 87th minute. Even though Fulham were down to 10 men after Calvin Bassey’s second yellow card.
Arteta introducing Fabio Vieira as a second-half substitute helped Arsenal turn the scoreline around against Fulham. His purposeful run into the area forced Kenny Tete to foul Vieira and concede the penalty Bukayo Saka scored. Vieira then found Eddie Nketiah to go 2-1 ahead.
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Arsenal left Wright feeling ‘nervous’ at home to Fulham
But Arsenal disappointed Wright with how Arteta’s squad tried to manage their narrow lead over Fulham. The Gunners legend felt his former team lacked the confidence required to see out the match. While Andreas Pereira’s first-minute goal also gave Wright cause for concern.
“[I am] a little bit worried,” Wright told Premier League Productions (26/08, 20:20). “There is a bit of sloppy play [and] I think they need to tighten up at the start of games.
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“There were times when I was watching the game and I felt nervous for us. We don’t seem to be as confident as I thought we could have been in managing the game once we got back into it when we were 2-1 up.”
Pereira sent Emirates Stadium into brief silence when he intercepted Saka’s pass and caught Aaron Ramsdale out of position. The midfielder capitalised on the goalkeeper being off his line to break the deadlock. Martin Keown also criticised Ramsdale for his poor positioning.
Arteta’s team have been far from convincing this season
Arsenal have been far from convincing in the Premier League so far this term, despite taking two wins and a draw. They almost wasted a 2-0 lead over Nottingham Forest on the opening day to win 2-1. Arteta’s side then had to dig in deep to see out a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.
It seemed that Vieira’s cameo would see Arsenal maintain their perfect start against Fulham, especially after Bassey’s red card. But Palhinha spoilt their party after capitalising on the lack of belief that concerned Wright to draw the Cottagers level as the Gunners tried to hang on.
Arteta will know Arsenal mishandled the final stages after trying to hold onto a 2-1 lead over chasing further goals. It allowed Fulham to seek out a late equaliser and Palhinha delivered when left unmarked. He fired the ball in from a corner the Gunners should have prevented.