Superb Fulham grab first win over Arsenal in more than a decade to hurt Gunners' title bid

Fulham (1) 2 Jimenez 28, Decordova-Reid 59

Arsenal (1) 1 Saka 15

Fulham stunned the Gunners to claim a first win over the north Londoners for nearly 12 years - denying them top spot in table in the process.

Not since that last-minute winner from Bobby Zamora in January 2012 had the Whites tasted victory over a team which had won five in a row at the Cottage - the last four with some considerable ease. But as was the case in the season's first meeting between the clubs at the Emirates - which finished 2-2 - Fulham found a way of upsetting the odds.

They fully deserved the win secured when another Bobby - Decordova-Reid - turned inside the box to fire home.

This felt like a magnificent statement win for the Cottagers - an ideal way to sign off for the year. But for Arsenal, the reality of tired-looking back-to-back defeats will have dented the soaraway ambitions they expected to carry into New Year's Day.

The Gunners' desire to make amends for the shock home loss to west Ham in midweek was obvious at the outset, and it was not long before they gained the upper hand.

Gaby Martinelli cut in from the left and pinged a low shot that Bernd Leno could only parry out to Bukayo Saka - whose reaction touch sent the ball looping into the net. The Whites hoped in vain for a VAR reprieve but Saka was deemed just onside.

The Whites soon responded with a good move though, and it was a portent of their desire to make this fixture count in their favour for once.

Willian and Antonee Robinson combined down the left channel to set up a chance for Raul Jimenez. The Mexican, just back from suspension, shot straight at David Raya. Willian then curled just off target.

With Fulham increasingly having a say in proceedings, they drew level when Calvin Bassey managed to wrestle the ball off Saka and in the counter-attack, Willian found Tom Cairney on the overlap and the Scot's perfect cross fell to Jimenez for the striker's fourth goal in as many games.

And the Whites took a lead they fully merited just before the hour mark when Willian's corner was nodded back towards the six yard box by Joaoa Palhinha and after pinball in the box off two green-shirted Arsenal players, the ball fell into the orbit of Decordova-Reid and he made no mistake.

There were a handful of good chances for Arsenal that might have altered the picture. Martinelli slid a shot inches wide in the first half and Saka skied a great chance over soon after Fulham had taken the lead.

But the general sense of frustration which dogged them in the Hammers game was back in earnest once more for Mikel Arteta's men. They had plenty of the ball, but struggled to do much with it.

Cairney came close to adding to Arsenal's woes with a typically well struck effort from outside the box that Raya just about managed to claw to safety.

But equally typical was the way Palhinha dived in for a crunching tackle to deny Saka as the winger was about to pull the trigger. His firt-pump to the fans spoke volumes of the prevailing mood by the end.

With home fans on their feet for the last knockings, sub Andreas Pereira almost bagged a third with a free-kick which thudded back off the bar.

This was a win which felt every bit as impressive as those recent 5-0 successes at home to Forest and West Ham, which have helped send them up to 13th in the table.

Whites: (4-2-3-1) Leno - Castagne, Tosin, Bassey, Robinson - Joao Palhinha, Cairney (Reed 90+2) - Decordova-Reid (Diop 80), Iwobi (Pereiara 73), Willian (Wilson 80) - Jimenez

Gunners: (4-3-3) Raya - White (Jesus 67), Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior (Tomiyasu h/t)- Odegaard, Rice, Havertz (Nelson 77) - Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli (Trossard 67)

Attendance: 24,444