FA Premier League
ARSENAL 1 (Nketiah 90+6)
FULHAM 1 (Maja pen 59)

IF there was no pandemic and the fans had been allowed in this afternoon, half the Emirates Stadium would no doubt have been empty anyway by 96 minutes. Remember those tube station queues and the rush for the next train home to Bushey.

Half of those who would’ve stayed to the final whistle would be scowling at Arsenal for scrabbling around in search of a desperate equaliser against a team seemingly bound for relegation.

The other half would have simply enjoyed the moment: the goalkeeper Mat Ryan rushing forward for a corner, flicking on a header and eventually Eddie Nketiah prodding in a playground leveller.

It was the most theatrical of finishes to Fulham’s visit here, but you might wonder what this high drama was really good for? It was there to be enjoyed but it could not take away from the fact Arsenal, by the skins of their teeth, had avoided an embarrassing 13th league defeat of a horribly confusing season.

They remain in ninth place, surely way below the minimum expectations drafted for manager Mikel Arteta at the start of the season. He was frustrated by both Fulham’s resolve and the computer rulers that VAR uses to decide whether goals are a fraction onside – or off.

As a result, all eggs remain stuffed in the Europa League basket and yet claiming that trophy still requires coming through a meeting with former manager Unai Emery’s Villarreal and possibly a final confrontation with Manchester United, who look much more organised than when Arsenal won at Old Trafford in the autumn.

That’s a point reinforced by the Premier League ladder; Arsenal dribbled into mid table after that victory, while United have motored to what looks like a second place finish.

Arsenal had a large share of the ball against Fulham but too often they ran out of ideas once faced with a gang of white shirts on the edge of the box. The killer pass evaded them and too many advances fizzled out.

They did get the ball in the net twice in the opening 45 minutes, however, and on the first occasion it was only a millimetre or so of Bukayo Saka’s toe that led to a goal being disallowed.

Dani Ceballos had headed the ball into the net after a good left to right passing move, but the celebrations were punctured when the big purple sign on the screen said ‘no goal’. The sort of verdict which leads to burps about ‘the game’ as a sport having been ruined and others about the rules needing the strictest application.

It was fractions again when Fulham went ahead on the hour. The lines again favoured the visitors on an offside call in the build-up to a move that saw Gabriel concede a penalty with a clumsy trip. Josh Maja scored the spot kick.

There was not a huge amount of invention in Arsenal’s attempts to stir a fight back. Alexander Lacazettte went off with what looked like a hamstring injury which could be a costly loss ahead of those European fixtures. If it is true that Lacazette may be departing this summer, it would be a shame if this was the way he said goodbye.

Fulham cleverly, it seemed in the moment, wasted time and managed the game with slow motion goal kicks and momentum breaking stoppages, but then were rocked when it was all added on as seven minutes of injury time anyway.

Gabriel Martinelli had had a couple of shots pushed away and Saka had curled one over but Arsenal were at last gasp stakes when Nketiah ghosted in for  the equaliser. It was a goal, checked and approved by VAR, that will  probably mean little to Arsenal at the end of a season but could be a disastrous blow for Fulham.

The irony not lost on the south coast was that the bouncing goalkeeper, the loanee Ryan, had helped his parent club Brighton too, by keeping the ball alive in the Fulham box before Nketiah scored.

Arsenal celebrated together in front of the empty stands and once again we longed for the return of supporters, however many of them would have been left to enjoy an injury time rescue. For a few seconds it would have been a thrill, but a glance at the league table afterwards would have been sobering too.

ARSENAL: Ryan, Bellerin (Pepe 68), Xhaka, Holding, Gabriel, Elneny (Partey 68), Ceballos, Saka, Smith-Rowe, Martinelli, Lacazette (Nketiah 70)
SUBS NOT USED: Chambers, Leno, Mari, Nelson, Soares, Willian

FULHAM: Areola, Aina, Robinson, Anderson, Adarabioyo, Lemina, Zambo Anguissa, Cavaleiro (Bryan 84), Lookman (Reed 69), Reid, Maja (Loftus-Cheek 77)
SUBS NOT USED:  Fabricio, Hector, Mitrovic, Odoi, Onomah, Ream