5 talking points as Nketiah strikes to earn Arsenal a point against Fulham

Eddie Nketiah's last gasp equaliser saved Arsenal a point against battling Fulham.

Josh Maja crashed home a penalty to give the Whites the lead in the second period after Gabriel was judged to have tripped Mario Lemina in the area, with the decision only given after it had been pored over by VAR.

The Gunners had been left cursing the video assistant referee in the first period as well, when Dani Ceballos' first Premier League goal was chalked off after an offside was spotted against Bukayo Saka in the build-up.

Mikel Arteta's side pressed for an equaliser in the second period, with sub Nketiah tapping home late on after Gunners goalkeeper Mat Ryan had come up for a corner

Here are the game's main talking points.

1. Arteta's got egg on his face

Before the game Arteta was in a buoyant mood, and determined not to let his side's European exertions have an impact on their Premier League life.

“Putting our eggs in one basket would be a big mistake," he said at his pre-match press conference.

“I love that phrase. My dad has always told me that since I was 15 years old. We cannot do that."

But then, cracks emerged.

The Gunners looked sluggish from the start here, with none of the ruthless energy they showed in Prague.

Europe looked to have played a part in what was a fairly rotten display for large parts, albeit one that was saved by Nketiah right at the death.

2. Fulham's spirit remains willing, even if their outlook is bleak

Let's be honest, it had looked over for them. It still might be.

After the win at Liverpool was followed by four successive defeats, Fulham have also had to watch as relegation rivals have picked up points and pushed them closer and closer to the trap door.

But this is a side that seems to respond when the chips are down.

Just as at Leicester, Everton and most notably at Anfield, these types of matches appear to inspire them, something that perhaps means that it is good news for them that they still have to go to Chelsea and Manchester United.

They keep delivering when they aren't expected to, and that is why they'll fight to the end despite the late disappointment here which has put them on the brink.

3. No luck for Lacazette

After a week in week in which he quite rightly earned plaudits for what he did before the Slavia Prague game, Lacazette's display during the match wasn't quite as up to speed as it has been of late.

And then picked up an injury.

It is to be hoped that the Frenchman's blow isn't too serious, as he had appeared to be entering something of a second wind of his Gunners career, with real leadership being shown.

Hopefully he's back soon.

4. Young Gunners aren't a surprise any more

Go back seven months to when we were all a little less world weary and we still had at least half of Netflix to complete, and us locked down football fans thought we knew what we were getting with Arsenal.

The summer signing of Willian looked a shrewd one, and the Brazilian would surely showcase his creative talents in a Gunners side that also had the nailed-on scoring threat of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in their ranks.

Sure enough, Aubameyang scored when Fulham were swatted aside on the opening weekend of the season, with Willian laying on two assists.

Both of them would have to play if Arteta was to get the most out of his side in an attacking sense, right?

Well…

Of course there were changes made here, and Aubameyang currently has no choice but to sit out matches, but can you really say that Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka and even Gabriel Martinelli don't make the Gunners' best XI ahead of their more established teammates at the moment?

Arteta's quiet revolution may still need to convince many, but you get the feeling these three will be part of it for a long time.

5. The VAR bit

Sorry.

I really am.

We'll keep it brief though.

Basically, how about looking at tennis?

There, Hawkeye can zoom right in and determine whether or not the ball has clipped the line, like a more extreme version of goalline technology, basically. Then, in many tournaments, there's a beep to denote the ball is out.

So how about an effective zoom in to determine whether or not the offside lines that loom ominously into view on our TV screens are touching as well? In truth you wouldn't even need that, as surely technology would be able to tell you instantly if the lines touch or not.

So instead of the lines being able to overlap and forwards being given offside by a fraction of a line as they are now, instead it would have to be the whole line that was in front of the other one to be given offside.

There would still be close decisions of course, but surely they wouldn't seem as marginal and arbitrary and the ones we get currently, and the optics would improve.

There would be a margin of error, basically. And an acceptance that what we have now can never be perfect.

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