5000:1. Those were the odds of Leicester City’s chances of winning the Premier League. Yet, Claudio Ranieri did the impossible by doing the impossible. Fulham, who recently held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw, thanks to Raúl Jiménez breaking the deadlock, and the Mexican warns the other teams before facing the West London club. Given the results they have produced against sides above them in the table, perhaps Marco Silva’s side could come up as an emerging threat. But Mikel Arteta had a different idea.

Players at Craven Cottage have often been part of the side that’s fought relegation battles, but that has changed since Marco Silva took over in 2021. In his first season, Fulham won the championship and got automatically promoted to the Premier League, where they managed to finish 10th. Since then, they have established themself as a mid-table club. However, from time to time, Marco Silva’s side has handled huge upsets to the top four. 

Raúl Jiménez, who scored the 5th goal for Fulham this season, was pretty ecstatic after his side’s draw with Arsenal. “We’ve had a run of good games, maybe not getting the three points in each and every one of them, but showing that we can compete with anyone”, the striker told TNT Sports. This season, Fulham defeated Nottingham Forest, Brentford, and Brighton, clubs currently sitting ahead of them on the table. 

Despite the draw with Fulham, Mikel Arteta was full of praises for the Gunners, claiming they dominated the game according to the Mirror. “The way we started was unbelievable. We started to dominate the ball, dominate the high press. Dominate every aspect of the game and suddenly you’re one goal down and that’s the quality of this league as well.”

Arsenal and Mikel Arteta had the chance to close the gap between Liverpool, considering their match with Everton had been postponed. But the North London club came short. At the Etihad, Fulham played a close game against Manchester City, last year’s champions, resulting in a 3-2 scoreline.

Marco Silva will hope for a spot in the European standings and perhaps recreate the feat of 2010. Notably, Fulham reached a Europa League final but failed at the last hurdle. But the season’s long and it’s too early to call shots. For Fulham, their biggest test comes in the upcoming game week, where they will be playing league leaders Liverpool at Anfield. 

Is this the year of Arne Slot or Mikel Arteta?

Arne Slot’s Reds currently sit atop the Premier League and Champions League tables, having lost only one game all season. The last time they played Fulham at home, the match saw 7 goals, with Trent Alexander Arnold grabbing a winner in the 88th minute and making the score 4-3. 

With a game in hand, Liverpool is four points ahead. And with Manchester City suffering a string of injury issues, the Premier League title could return to Merseyside. Pep Guardiola has lost four league matches in a row for the first time in history. It’s incredible, right? Well, his side drew 2-2 to Crystal Palace, who stay just outside the relegation zone. 

But this is the Premier League, and it often comes down to the final matchday of the season. This could be seventh heaven for Guardiola, a 20th for Liverpool, or even a first for either Enzo Maresca or Mikel Arteta. While the title race intensifies, Fulham is slowly becoming a force to be reckoned with.