Fulham 2-1 Arsenal: Gunners are handed their second straight defeat in major blow to their title hopes as Raul Jimenez and Bobby Decordova-Reid goals help Marco Silva’s men come from behind after Bukayo Saka’s opener

A quick glance at last season’s Premier League table will reveal that Arsenal lost six matches en route to finishing second, five points behind all-conquering Manchester City.

They don’t leave themselves much wiggle room, do they?

Here at wet Craven Cottage, the title-chasing Gunners suffered their fourth defeat of the campaign.

If Mikel Arteta’s side are to beat City (and this past season is anything to go by), they will need a near-perfect second half of the season.

This is Arsenal’s problem. They are far from perfect now.

The winter holidays can’t come soon enough for north Londoners. They seem to be in dire need of rebooting and recharging. But the damage may already be done.

Consecutive defeats follow Thursday’s home defeat to West Ham. One win in six matches.

No matter how you spin it, this is not championship winning form. Fulham were great. Marco Silva’s team felt the blood and struck the throat.

They were awarded for their bravery and perseverance. Yet this was not a raid and capture; Fulham dominated most of this match.

In the end they could have won by a clearer margin. For Arsenal, the problem is the difference between them at the top of the table.

Having taken the lead here in west London, Arsenal will look back on their abject defeat on New Year’s Eve with great disappointment.

It took Arsenal just five minutes to shoot ahead. Bukayo Saka fired home from six yards after Bernd Leno parried Gabriel Martinelli’s opener into the path of the England star.

The counter-attack was swift and merciless, and Arsenal were in front within seconds of the ball leaving David Rai’s palms.

From here on out, the Gunners really should have struck. But now something is not working out for Arteta’s team.

A run of just one win in their previous five heading into this meeting symbolizes their recent struggles.

Fulham, after several defeats in the Premier League, found themselves on the brink. Arsenal had to finish them off. But to give Silva’s people credit, their response was impressive.

Raul Jimenez, back in the squad after suspension, should have done better from Anthony Robinson’s 14th-minute strike before Willian’s shot went wide.

Robinson, in particular, impressed for Fulham. Working hard to eliminate the threat of Saka on Arsenal’s right flank, while creating his own defensive problems for his direct opponent and Ben White.

Joao Palinha vs Declan Rice was an intriguing battle in central midfield. Arsenal’s recruitment staff love the look of Fulham’s midfield maestro and it’s not hard to see why.

A deserved Fulham goal leveled the scores just before the half-hour mark, Jimenez heading home from Tom Cairney’s low cross.

Arteta will rue the simplicity of it all. Once Calvin Bassey all but dispossessed Saka in the Fulham half, the hosts were level in no time.

But it was no more than Arsenal deserved, given a first-half performance unbecoming of a team that will end 2023 as league leaders with a win.

Clearly Fulham deserve their fair share of recognition. But Arsenal were disunited and almost exhausted.

Arteta was looking to freshen up his squad after a busy festive period, Eddie Nketiah made a rare start ahead of Gabriel Jesus on the bench, Jakub Kivior started ahead of Oleksandr Zinchenko, who had a minor calf strain, and Kai Havertz returned from suspension to replace Leandro. Trossard.

Not that these fresh legs had the desired effect. Kiwior, in particular, struggled at left-back. Zinchenko has come under criticism in recent weeks for his defensive work; the absence of a Ukrainian here was conspicuous.

Unsurprisingly, Takehiro Tomiyasu, who had been out for four weeks with a calf injury, turned up at half-time to put Kiwior out of his misery.

However, Fulham smelled blood. The start of the second half was just as impressive as the end of the first.

The Cottagers were ahead on the hour, with Bobby De Cordova-Reid scoring after Rice and Tomiyasu failed to deal with Willian’s corner.

Craven Cottage was noisy. Arteta was as crazy on the touchline as he was trying to get his players going.

Arsenal responded by throwing in Trossard and Jesus to replace defender Ben White as the Gunners threw caution to the wind.

Just before these substitutions, Saka should have at least hit the target with a volley after a mix-up between Bassey and Robinson at the back post.

As the game entered its final 15 minutes, the elements took on a biblical character. Arsenal were in desperate need of divine intervention. Rain, hail, gusty winds – you name it – the whole of Craven Cottage was splashed with it.

Supporters ran for cover. However, Arsenal, whose title ambitions were on the verge of being dealt another crushing blow, had no hiding place.

The brilliant Palinha summed up Fulham’s spirit by marking Saka’s late challenge as a goal.

By the time Josh Smith finished the game, Fulham might have had a two-goal lead and a man advantage.

William Saliba was lucky not to see red after he roughed up Harry Wilson’s shot on goal in the 86th minute before substitute Andreas Pereira’s free-kick hit the crossbar.

Fulham will end 2023 with one of their matches of the season. But Arsenal…