It’s been over 6 years since Arsenal demolished Fulham in sublime fashion at the Craven Cottage, all about the substitutes who entered the field that afternoon
It’s been over 6 years since that team goal from Arsenal. Just a few months after Arsene Wenger’s departure, they were still carrying on the tradition of the famed ‘Wengerball’ under then-new manager Unai Emery.
After a rather sluggish start to their 2018-19 campaign, Arsenal had a brilliant September, and were continuing the same into October. In the early days of the month, the North London club visited Craven Cottage to take on then-newly promoted Fulham.
Alexandre Lacazette struck Arsenal in front, but was canceled out by Andre Schurrle towards the end of the first half. However, just a few minutes into the second half, Lacazette struck again to make it 1-2 to Arsenal. Then came Aaron Ramsey in place of now-Fulham player Alex Iwobi.
No sooner did he arrive, than Arsenal scored a sublime tiki-taka team goal, stylized as ‘Wengerball’ by the North London faithful. Starting off from their own half, Ramsey laid a pass to Lacazette, who then passed it back to the Welshman. Amid an obstructing Fulham player, Ramsey then chipped it back to Lacazette, who lofted it over to Bellerin.
Quick-thinking from the Spaniard, saw him backheel his pass to Ramsey, who controlled it brilliantly with his head to pass it to Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The Armenian wasted no time as he hit a first-touch through ball to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who then placed a perfect cross into the box. By then Ramsey had made his run into the box, and sublimely backheeled it past the Fulham goalkeeper to round off a memorable Arsenal goal.
Fulham vs. Arsenal in 2018 at the Craven Cottage
Fulham vs. Arsenal in 2018 at the Craven Cottage (via ESPN)
In this article we take a look at the three substitues who were used that afternoon by Arsenal, and where they are now.
Aaron Ramsey
Aaron Ramsey was in his final year at Arsenal. The Welshman had joined the club way back in 2008 from Cardiff City, and it was already known before the end of the season that he would be leaving to Juventus.
Having joined Juventus in 2019, Ramsey did make a decent amount of appearances for the ‘Old Lady’, although he was not a regular starter. In the final half of the last year of his Juventus stint, Ramsey joined Rangers on loan. Once he returned, he left Juventus to join French club Nice for a year. In 2023, he signed a two-year-deal with his boyhood club Cardiff again.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was a substitute that afternoon at Craven Cottage. Coming on for Danny Welbeck, he went on to score a brace. The Gabonese went on to win the EPL Golden Boot that year (alongside Mo Salah and Sadio Mane). He fell out of favor with current manager Mikel Arteta, and his starts for the club began dwindling towards the turn of 2021. In early 2022, Aubameyang left Arsenal to join Barcelona for half-a-season.
Later that year, he made a shock return to London, joining rivals Chelsea. However, his spell at Chelsea was dismal, and the very next year, he moved to Marseille, where he found his form again. Despite shining for the French club, Aubameyang, left for Saudi club Al-Qadsiah in 2024, where he currently plays.
Matteo Guendouzi
Another player who was not a part of Mikel Arteta’s plans. Having joined the club in 2018, Guendouzi was loaned out to Hertha BSC in 2020, and once he returned he was loaned out to Marseille, following which he joined the club on a permanent transfer. While at Marseille, Guendouzi joined Italian club Lazio on loan.
Once his loan spell at Lazio was over, Guendouzi joined them on a permanent transfer in 2024, and has been a regular starter for them.