Fulham produced their most surprising result of the season on New Year’s Eve after defeating Arsenal at Craven Cottage, with striker Raul Jimenez playing a starring role.
The Mexican forward was back on the score sheet after his three-match suspension with club captain Tom Cairney setting up his equaliser.
Bobby De Cordova-Reid scored the winner but it was the 32-year-old that pundit Robbie Mustoe wanted to praise on The 2 Robbies Podcast.
When Raul Jimenez was sent off for one of the more unique challenges seen in the Premier League this season, there was a worry among the fanbase about how easily Marco Silva would be able to replace him.
Rodrigo Muniz is full of energy but still without a Premier League goal to his name while Carlos Vinicius appears to be completely out of favour.
There has even been a suggestion in the past that De Cordova-Reid could play as a false nine but the reality is, that Silva’s system is way too reliant on a striker with Jimenez’s skill set.
When Jimenez returned to the Fulham line-up against Arsenal – alongside Willian – Silva’s team on paper was at least much closer to full strength.
Few would have predicted the final result – especially after the defeats that preceded this match – but Fulham very much deserved their win and to finally earn a victory over a title-challenging side.
Mustoe hails Jimenez as Fulham defeat Arsenal
Speaking about the Mexican international, Mustoe said: “We all know that we expected a tougher season with Aleksandar Mitrovic leaving for Saudi Arabia and Raul Jimenez had done nothing, hadn’t scored a goal and it’s good to see him scoring again.
“Big Raul Jimenez, the Mexican striker, he’s got a load of quality, obviously had that horrific head injury a few seasons ago now and I just feel good for him because he’s got quality, he’s got technique, he’s starting to score goals, the fans all of a sudden he’ll appease everybody.
“And Fulham is a good story and there’s no question that Marco Silva now an experienced manager in English football is a good Premier League manager and they sit comfortably kind of mid-table-ish, a little lower than that.”
There were worries among the fanbase that Jimenez may have been the wrong man to replace Aleksandar Mitrovic as he struggled to score his first league goal for the Whites.
However, he finally broke his duck in a 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa and has looked like a different player ever since.
Arsenal couldn’t handle Jimenez on New Year’s Eve and it was arguably his best-ever performance for Fulham.
He now has four league goals in his last four appearances and despite links to other forwards, Jimenez looks like Silva’s man for the rest of the season.