Joao Palhinha secured a point for 10-man Fulham in an entertaining Premier League draw away to Arsenal on August 26, 2023.

Palhinha’s first-time finish from a corner in the 87th minute earned the away side a share of the spoils.

The Cottagers had Calvin Bassey sent off four minutes earlier after he fouled Eddie Nketiah on the counter-attack. Andreas Pereira got Fulham off to a flying start, scoring after just 57 seconds.

Bukayo Saka equalised from the penalty spot for the Gunners after Fabio Vieira was caught by Kenny Tete. Nketiah scored Arsenal’s second as they came from behind to take the lead before Fulham had the final word.

Arsenal’s defensive frailties

After a resilient performance against Crystal Palace on Monday that saw the Gunners end with 10 men but all three points, they swiftly fell behind against Fulham.

Pereira’s finish meant Arsenal became the first team in Premier League history to concede a first-minute goal three times in a calendar year.

Quickfire strikes from Saka and Nketiah midway through the second half saw Arsenal surge into the lead.

However, even with Arsenal having a man advantage for the closing minutes, they could not see out the game. Palhinha was left unmarked and punished Arsenal’s sloppy defending to snatch a point for Marco Silva’s team.

In games against Nottingham Forest and now Fulham, Arsenal have conceded in the last 15 minutes of the second half – showing the defending that cost them towards the end of last campaign still needs to be addressed.

Takehiro Tomiyasu’s red card at Palace meant Jakub Kiwior came into Mikel Arteta’s home side, with Thomas Partey playing as a makeshift left-back, and it was clear to see the defence was unbalanced by the changes.

After getting back into the game, and into the lead, Arsenal switched off and were punished by a resolute Fulham side.