Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Rice, Lewis-Skelly, Eze, Trossard, Saka, Gyokeres
Subs: Kepa, Mosquera, Hincapie, Jesus, Martinelli, Norgaard, Madueke, Zubimendi, Dowman
Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to six points after beating Fulham 3-0 at Emirates Stadium on Saturday, thanks to goals from Bukayo Saka and a brace for Viktor Gyokeres.
Mikel Arteta made five changes from the side that drew against Atletico Madrid last time out, with Riccardo Calafiori, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Eberechi Eze, Leandro Trossard and Saka all coming into the team.
Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber missed out on the matchday squad again through injury, with Martin Odegaard joining them after picking up yet another knee problem midweek.
FIRST HALF
It was a positive start from Arsenal who looked full of intent early on, with Lewis-Skelly (handed a start in midfield) doing well to shake off Reed and playing Calafiori through, but the ball bounced off his heel and fell to Leandro Trossard who shot just wide.
Fulham were already struggling to deal with the Gunners who found themselves ahead with nine minutes on the clock, after Bukayo Saka isolated Raul Jimenez out wide, broke his ankles with a smart shift and crossed for Viktor Gyokeres who was perfectly placed in the middle for an easy tap-in. 1-0.
That opener made him the first Arsenal player to score 20+ goals across all competitions in their debut season since Alexis Sanchez in 2014/15 (25 goals).
Arsenal smelt blood after taking the early lead and continued to push for goals, and there was a golden chance to grab another when Leno fumbled the ball under pressure from Gabriel before scrambling back to his line to save another effort from Gyokeres, before Saka fired a tough rebound wide.
There was a lovely bounce to the home side who looked fluid and positive in their passing, and Eze had a goalbound shot blocked by Andersen after more good work from Saka by the touchline, before Calafiori saw an excellent header (correctly) ruled out for offside in the same passage of play.
Strangely enough, Fulham had a decent spell of possession after the disallowed goal with White and Calafiori having a couple of nervy moments at the back, but just as the visitors were growing back into the game, Saka added a second with a clinical finish to kill that momentum dead.
Eze showed good vision to find another run in behind from Gyokeres, who held the ball up against Andersen, waited for support and found Saka with a smart pass between two defenders, with the winger firing a near post effort past his former teammate. 2-0.
Saka was purring at this point and after some more brilliant play by the touchline, where he controlled a long diagonal and played Calafiori through between two defenders, the Italian cut back for Saliba whose teasing cross found Gabriel at the back post but he couldn’t quite hook an effort towards goal.
In first half injury time, Arsenal added a third – and Gyokeres grabbed his second – after they did well to wriggle out of some Fulham pressure, with Trossard carrying the ball and beating Castagne down the left, before dropping a perfect cross straight onto the head of his centre forward who went across Leno and into the net. 3-0.
There is often a spotlight on Gyokeres who has faced (justified) criticism this season, but this was his best half for the club and by a considerable distance.
You could see from the first minute that Arsenal were up for this game and Fulham simply couldn’t handle their pace, fluidity and running during the first half. Conviction in the final third always helps but this is the kind of performance Arteta will have wanted to see at home.
SECOND HALF
Arsenal did make a half-time change ahead of Tuesday with Noni Madueke replacing Saka, in what felt like a sensible decision as he continues to manage an Achilles injury. Straight into some cotton wool, please.
But it was Fulham who had some early sights of goal, with Raul Jimenez firing over from distance before Castagne had a goalbound header deflected wide by Calafiori. Raya was scrambling across his goal but it wasn’t clear if he was getting there or not.
Minutes later, Gyokeres had a golden chance to secure his hat-trick after being played through by Trossard (who showed good tenacity to win the ball in midfield), but Leno was out quickly to close his angle and got just enough on his effort to stop it going in.
With half an hour to play, Fulham made a triple change but Arteta reacted with two changes of his own with Gabriel Jesus and Martin Zubimendi replacing Gyokeres and Declan Rice – again with an eye towards the semi-final second leg against Atletico next week.
Arsenal were clearly in “manage the game mode” and the visitors had another couple of moments, with Raya making a decent save from Castagne before Max Dowman was introduced for Eze who had another good showing in midfield.
There was another chance for the Gunners and it was Calafiori threatening again after his earlier disallowed effort, this time leaping highest to direct a Madueke header towards goal – but his header came off the head of Leno and onto the crossbar with no red shirts able to capitalise on the rebound.
But it was otherwise job done for Arteta’s men who blew Fulham away in the first half, managed the second half and key players were taken off ahead of time – scoring three excellent goals was the icing on the cake.
City have two games in hand but points on the board are more important, and eyes turn to the Hill-Dicky Stadium on Monday night before a huge game in the Champions League.