ARSENAL 3-0 FULHAM: Mikel Arteta's side dominated their London rivals with a sensational display to move six points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table
Arsenal
Arsenal eased to victory over Fulham on Saturday evening(Image: Getty Images)
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Arsenal extended their lead over Manchester City in style with a dominant victory over Fulham on Saturday evening.
The Gunners enjoyed an electric start to the game, with Viktor Gyokeres tapping home from close range. Riccardo Calafiori had the ball in the net again but saw his strike ruled out by VAR.
Arsenal did eventually have a second to celebrate through England star Bukayo Saka. Gyokeres then doubled his afternoon's work with a thumping header before the break.
The win sees Mikel Arteta's side extend their lead over City to six points. Pep Guardiola's men will be looking to cut that gap on Sunday as they take on Everton on Monday.
Here are all of the talking points from the Emirates:
Gyokeres in form
After his potentially crucial strike in Madrid, Gyokeres was at it again early on against Fulham. And while the Swede was the beneficiary, huge credit has to go to Saka.
The England winger received the ball in the right, feigned a cross on his left foot, before going inside his full back.
Once at the byline, he cut the ball back to the unmarked Gyokeres, who tapped home. He was then at it again just before the break as he nodded home a sumptuous cross from Leandro Trossard.
Gyokeres is now at 21 goals for the season in all competitions. Given the criticism he has received, that's not a bad total at all.
Viktor Gyokeres
Viktor Gyokeres celebrates his 20th goal of the season(Image: Getty Images)
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Calafiori frustrated
Arsenal thought they had added to their advantage midway through the first-half as another Saka cross picked out Eberechi Eze. The England man had his effort blocked but it fell to Leandro Trossard, who curled the ball towards Calafiori.
The Italian headed home with a brilliant effort. But unfortunately, VAR intervened and chalked it off. Calafiori was clearly offside and the guilty look on his face appeared to show he agreed with the decision.
Sensational Saka
Having not started a Premier League game for Arsenal since mid-March, Saka has taken a little bit of time to get back to top form. But he looked back to his best against Fulham.
He tormented Antonee Robinson throughout the evening, his individual skill key to Gyokeres' opener. Saka then celebrated himself as he fired past Bernd Leno at the near post.
It saw Saka bring to an end an 11-game run without a goal at the Emirates. If he can continue this level of performance between now and the end of the season, he could certainly fire Arsenal to the title.
The only slight concern was seeing Saka substituted for Noni Madueke at the break but hopefully his exit was just a precaution ahead of the second-leg clash with Atletico Madrid.
Bukayo Saka
Bukayo Saka was back to his best against Fulham(Image: Getty Images)
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Arteta follows City experiment
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has had a funny habit of turning fullbacks into midfielders at the Etihad Stadium - and vice versa. Having earned his coaching stripes under the Spaniard, it's no surprise to see Arteta follow suit.
He chose to deploy academy graduate Miles Lewis-Skelly in the centre of the park alongside Declan Rice. And it looked as though the teenager had been a midfielder all his career.
He broke play up impressively, was confident on the ball and provided a valuable shield in front of the Arsenal defence. Considering this was just his fourth Premier League start of the season, Lewis-Skelly has to be praised for slotting seamlessly into an unfamiliar position.
Arsenal in control
With just three games to play, Arsenal are now six points clear. Should City lose against Everton on Monday, that means that the Gunners effectively need a maximum of just two more wins to be confirmed as champions.
And having added to their goal difference against Fulham, that represents another considerable advantage. Of course, it's far from done - City could indeed be level on points once again should they beat Everton and win their game in-hand.
But it's not a stretch to say that Arsenal are in control of the title race once more.
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