Arsenal 2-1 Fulham (Merino 37′, Saka 72′ | Muniz 90+4′)
EMIRATES STADIUM — Ever since Bukayo Saka made his forlorn exit at Selhurst Park before Christmas, it felt as though Arsenal were in stasis waiting for him to recover. The prodigal son has returned.
The three biggest cheers of the night were all for Saka: when his name was read out before kick-off; when he jogged onto the pitch on 65 minutes; and when he scored seven minutes after that. The decibel level rose each time.
Saka had the simple task of nodding it into an empty Fulham net from an exquisite Gabriel Martinelli flick, but he was right where he needed to be. Arsenal badly missed his efficiency. He has remained top of their charts for direct goal contributions (goals and assists) despite missing 19 games throughout the winter.
That header, following on from Mikel Merino’s first-half opener, ensured that the Gunners reduced the gap on leaders Liverpool to nine points, albeit having played a game more, to keep their slim Premier League title chances alive.
But as has been typical of the Gunners’ campaign, injuries made it an imperfect evening.
Somewhat cruelly, just as Mikel Arteta welcomed one key player back from a hamstring injury, he watched another one, Gabriel Magalhaes, trudge past him down the tunnel after succumbing to a similar strain.
The Brazilian’s grimace suggests it could be a bad one. Gabriel’s availability has historically been one of his biggest strengths. Since joining Arsenal from Lille in the summer of 2020, the Brazilian has only missed 12 competitive games out of 240 due to injury.
With Jurrien Timber also withdrawn after receiving a blow to the knee and Ben White missing out altogether due to a “niggle”, Arteta risks having a depleted defence for the double header against Real Madrid just as his attack has begun to regenerate.
Arteta expects to have a stronger squad to withstand such blows next season, claiming pre-match that the club are prepared to go “big” in the summer transfer window. Acquiring a Swedish striker is likely to be top of new sporting director Andrea Berta’s to-do list, with Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres a more attainable target than Newcastle’s Alexander Isak.
In the meantime, Merino is doing a pretty good job as a stopgap. His fifth goal in eight games as an emergency centre forward was aided by a big deflection off Jorge Cuenca, but he worked the half yard well and took the shot on. Sometimes, you make your own luck.
Ethan Nwaneri’s dancing feet made the chance and accommodating the teenager and Saka in the same side will be a fun puzzle for Arteta to solve at some point.
Arsenal had chances to extend their lead before Saka delivered. Martin Odegaard blazed over first time and Merino had a volley diverted over. Later at 2-0, Martinelli had the ball in the net but was marginally offside from Odegaard’s pass.
Fulham had chances too and Arteta may be concerned at how easily they crafted them on the counter. Raul Jimenez fired straight at David Raya with Myles Lewis-Skelly mopping up the spillage, Adama Traore wasted a two-vs-two and Rodrigo Muniz missed a sitter from an Alex Iwobi cross.
The Brazilian atoned in stoppage time with a header that bobbled in off William Saliba and despite winning a corner soon after, Arsenal clung on.
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