LONDON, CMC – Jamaica international Bobby De Cordova-Reid enabled Fulham to end the year in grand style when he scored a second-half goal and helped them to claim their first win against Arsenal in a dozen years 2-1 in the English Premier League on Sunday.
The 30-year-old Reggae Boyz forward followed a first-half equalizer from Raúl Jiménez with his fourth goal of the season after Bukayo Saka gave Arsenal an early lead in the contest at Craven Cottage.
Fulham are now 13th in the Premier League standings on 24 points after ending a run of three defeats in a row. Still, the loss blew a chance for Arsenal to move to the top, and they are now fourth at 40 points behind leaders Liverpool, at 42, Aston Villa at 42, and defending champions Manchester City at 40.
“Overall, I think we were the best side on the pitch,” Fulham manager Marco Silva said in an interview on the club’s website. “After conceding the early goal against a team like Arsenal, it shows it’s a team that knows what we wanted from the match, showing the character and the personality to turn it for us.
“The way we reacted after that, the way we played the first half, was perfect. We mixed our game well; there were moments to start from the back when we beat their pressure, as we know that Arsenal is vital when they press high.
“And the way we did it, mixing some moments with going more direct with Raúl, other moments with quality from the back, and when our equalizing goal came, it was more than fair because they were great moments from ourselves, an excellent goal from ourselves, and we deserved it.”
With Fulham starting the second half with the same intensity they had shown during the first half, the Cottage was rocking, and the roof nearly came off in the 59th minute when De Cordova-Reid put them in front.
There was a bit of a scramble after João Palhinha headed Willian’s corner towards the goal, and the Jamaica international was the most alert to stab the ball into the net.
Both sides had their chances in the remaining time, with Fulham substitute Andreas Pereira unlucky to see his effort off a free kick rebound off the crossbar with two minutes to play. Still, the hosts maintained the performance levels they had shown to lock in a massive three points all day.
Earlier, Arsenal took the lead with a fifth-minute opener following a quick break when Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno palmed away a curling shot from Gabriel Martinelli off the left side, and Saka stuck out his right leg to loop the ball into the net from six yards.
The Gunners were under pressure after the goal, and they finally cracked when Raúl announced his return to the Fulham line-up in style, arriving at the back post to slide in a wicked first-time cross from Tom Cairney in the 29th minute.
Fulham claimed a deserved winner when Decordova-Reid finished a corner past David Raya following pinball in the box and condemned Arsenal to consecutive losses.
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