Fulham manager Marco Silva felt his side produced a strong display at the Cottage on Saturday evening, despite falling to a narrow 1-0 defeat against Arsenal.
“I think we did start very well,” Silva began. “The first 25 to 30 minutes were at a very good level from us. The way our organisation kept them away from creating clear chances was really pleasing to see.
“We had two very good chances from Harry Wilson to score, and even the first corner of the game — the combination on the edge of the box with TC (Tom Cairney) striking the ball — it was going in the direction of the goal before Arsenal made a good block. It was another good chance for us, and until then there was nothing from Arsenal in terms of chances.”
“In the last 15 minutes of the first half, they pushed more forward and controlled more of the game,” he said. “Not with big chances, but with some good shots from the edge of the box.
“In the second half, they started better, but the reality is that until they scored and took the lead, there was nothing really special from them. I think we kept them away most of the time.”
Our boss was satisfied with Fulham’s defensive discipline, but admitted he wanted to see more composure on the ball.
“Not playing so well like in the first 30 minutes — I would have liked to see our team with better quality on the ball,” he continued. “We knew Arsenal would press us higher, and sometimes that’s not easy, but I think we had the chances to play more, to connect our game a little bit better, and to have moments to settle.
“That would have given us the chance to breathe and to boost our confidence because if you don’t have the ball, it becomes more difficult for us — and we don’t like that.”
Despite the result, Silva was proud of his players’ effort, especially with several key players currently sidelined through injury.
“We have a lot of absences right now, but the attitude from the players, the work ethic, and the organisation was there most of the time."
"Arsenal are in a great moment — a tough side to play against. We had a better first half, and I would have liked to see us in the second half do more or less what we did in the first 30 minutes.”