Player ratings as Cottagers secure late draw against Arsenal

Arsenal played out a breathless 2-2 draw at home to Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

The Gunners stumbled through large swathes of their opening two Premier League fixtures but managed to beat Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace. Quick-fire goals from Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah at the Emirates threatened to bail out Arteta's side once again but Joao Palhinha swept in a late equaliser for Fulham from a poorly defended corner.

Fulham nervily survived a late flurry of set pieces from Arsenal to emerge with a point.

A mere 57 seconds had elapsed before Fulham took the lead at the Emirates Stadium. Saka began a record-breaking appearance with a wayward back-pass which Andreas Pereira pounced upon. Aaron Ramsdale back-pedalled so furiously he tripped over his own toes while watching Pereira's chip bounce into his net.

This was not new territory for Arsenal. Mikel Arteta's side trailed after eight seconds when Bournemouth arrived at the Emirates last March before recovering to win 3-2 and took a point at home to Southampton in April despite falling behind in the first minute. The Gunners strayed towards desperation in their immediate attempts to make another comeback on Saturday but, in the process, left themselves open at the back.

The hosts repeatedly switched the play, flinging the ball from one flank to the other, in an attempt to tease open the tight stitching of Fulham's disciplined 4-4-2. At the culmination of one such first-half move, Saka almost made up for his early error but planted his header into the turf and over the crossbar.

A biblical downpour in north London added to the theatre of a contest where each minute felt like the 90th. Between the vicious thunderclaps, the Emirates crowd produced their own deafening roar to greet the award of an Arsenal penalty in the 70th minute.

Fabio Vieira, one of three substitutions that Arteta made before the 55th minute, combined with Gabriel Martinelli to finally get the better of Kenny Tete and win the spot kick. After stepping aside for Martin Odegaard against Crystal Palace, Saka took on the responsibility against Fulham, coolly slotting past his former teammate Bernd Leno.

Another of Arteta's replacements fired Arsenal in front less than three minutes later. Eddie Nketiah capped off a move of pure chaos that perfectly suited the contest. Played onside by Fulham's Calvin Bassey as he writhed in agony following a tangle with Saka, Nketiah stabbed in Vieira's low cross.

The referee overlooked any foul on Bassey but spotted his blatant bodycheck on Nketiah in the centre circle, which earned the defender a second yellow card on his full Premier League debut.

Arsenal had a man advantage but Joao Palhinha was conspicuously unmarked from an 87th-minute corner, walking onto a cross which he swiped into the far corner to haul Fulham level.

83 - Bukayo Saka has appeared in each of @Arsenal's last 83 matches in the Premier League, now the outright longest run of any player for the club in the competition, going clear of Paul Merson (1995-1997). The first game in the run came against West Brom in May 2021. Relentless. pic.twitter.com/AB9dYmnrRZ