Marco Silva slams Fulham’s “basic” failings after heavy Arsenal defeat

Marco Silva slams Fulham’s “basic” failings after heavy Arsenal defeat

Marco Silva admitted Fulham failed to meet the required standards after a dominant 3-0 defeat at Arsenal on Saturday evening.

Fulham conceded three first-half goals at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal moved six points clear at the summit.

Viktor Gyokeres netted a brace while Bukayo Saka also found the net for the Premier League leaders.

Consequently, the Cottagers remain adrift in the mid-table battle following a disappointing London derby performance.

Marco Silva slams Fulham’s “basic” failings after heavy Arsenal defeat

Marco Silva expressed deep frustration with his team’s lack of focus during the opening forty-five minutes.

“I don’t like to go this way, we should have performed much better,” Silva told Sky Sports. The Portuguese manager insisted that his side’s current performance does not match their season objectives.

“The goals we still have to achieve are not at the level we were,” he admitted. He noted that the squad must analyse these failings internally rather than discussing them publicly.

Silva highlighted a lack of “basics” as the primary reason for the first-half collapse. He noted the basics were simply “not there” when Arsenal created their early chances.

The manager revealed that he spoke firmly to his players at the interval. “It was clear at half-time. We wanted to do completely different things with winning duels,” Silva stated.

Although the visitors showed more fight after the restart, the manager deemed the improvement insufficient.

“It was the minimum that we should have done,” Silva remarked regarding the second-half display. However, he admitted the reaction came “too late” to impact the final result.

Fulham struggled to contain a lively Arsenal attack that is currently chasing reigning champions Liverpool for the title.

Silva also touched upon squad availability issues but refused to use them as an excuse for the loss.

“If you don’t have all the squad ready, we have to go with the others and we trust them,” he explained.

He remains concerned about the growing gap between Fulham and the teams above them in the table. “The gap will be bigger if not, that is not under our control,” Silva noted.

The defeat leaves Fulham searching for urgent answers ahead of their next Premier League fixture. “We have to be very disappointed with the performance,” the manager concluded.

Meanwhile, Arsenal focus on their upcoming Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid. The Gunners look incredibly strong as the title race enters its final stages.

Read more- Arteta hails Arsenal “authority” after crucial Fulham win

See Also- Bowen admits setback ‘hurts’ as West Ham beaten at Brentford

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