Marco Silva details Arsenal’s ‘advantage’ against Fulham and calls on former Gunners man to improve | OneFootball

Marco Silva says Arsenal’s extra time to prepare for their game against his Fulham side could work in their favour when the two meet on Tuesday.

Fulham will travel to the Emirates Stadium having lost 3-0 to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday, while Arsenal have not played since before the international break.

Although they are not really in contention for the title anymore, Arsenal still sit second in the table. Fulham’s manager is not surprised by their position.

“As we expected they are there,” he said. “Of course they are not in the top of the table because Liverpool are doing so well but they have been there and trying to be as close as they can from the first position on the table.

“Of course in other competitions like the FA Cup and Carabao Cup they were out but they’re still playing Champions League matches.

“As you know it’s a top side, not just in terms of individual quality, they have a collective quality.”

“They have had all the time from the last international break to prepare for the first game after and that is going to be against us.

“Of course they have this small advantage plus the home game that is always different than away from home.

“We know their quality, we know their intensity, their physicality as well, they are probably one of the most physical teams in the league too.

“They like to press really high, they are going to create some problems for us but we have to be brave enough to play our game because there are three points to fight for.

“They are going to demand many many things from ourselves but I really believe that if we are at our best level we have shown already that we are able to respond really well. “

Fulham have not lost in their last three meetings with Arsenal, with the two sides drawing 1-1 earlier on in the campaign.

“Our recent record against them has been very good,” Silva continued. “That shows that we have been doing very, very good things against them.

Tomorrow night’s game will also be a first return to the Emirates for Emile Smith-Rowe since the midfielder joined Fulham in the summer.

Asked about Smith-Rowe’s first season with the club, Silva admitted: “Some up-and-downs, it doesn’t surprise us for a player that was not playing enough football the last two seasons.

“Of course, very good impact in the first months with us, very, very good one. First games of the season they were at a very, very good level. After the second international break it was a little bit tough. The December month was difficult for him.

“After that he had some good games, others not so good. He needs to find the right consistency in his game to be able to perform at a very good level in a consistent way. This is the main thing for us.”

“I don’t have any doubts about the talent, the quality that he has, but the Premier League demands so many good things from you because you cannot play Premier League football week in week out if you are not on your top level from a physical point of view, and this is something we have been working with Emile.

“Of course if you ask me I would love to see him more consistent every single game.

“It is a step that he has to give soon. I really hope he does because he’s a top talent, he’s a very good player, he’s a player that I really like, he’s a player that I really trust that already has an impact in our team. I really believe that impact in the future is going to be even more.”