4 hours ago
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This was a mechanical performance from Arsenal, but it was enough. Enough to beat Fulham, enough to avoid an unnecessary slip and enough for Mikel Arteta’s side to increase the pressure on Liverpool before the champions look to move past their slump when they host Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.
It never came close to being beautiful. A goal from a corner was required to settle the contest, Leandro Trossard scoring in opportunistic fashion, and there was never any sense of Arsenal running away with it. They created little in open play and will perhaps be troubled by another uneven performance from Viktor Gyökeres, who returned from a troubled international break with Sweden and saw his goalless run for club and country run into a ninth game.
When it was over, though, all that mattered to Arsenal was that they were back on top of the league, three points clear of Manchester City and four in front of Liverpool. They are tough, resilient and efficient. They have the ability to grind out ugly wins in challenging away games, which is a must for any side with aspirations of winning the league. The defence is strong. This was Arsenal’s fifth clean sheet in eight games.
There were initial complications for Arsenal to deal with as they looked to respond to City’s win over Everton earlier in the day. Fulham were combative, even with a host of key players out injured, and they created the better chances during the opening exchanges. Raúl Jiménez had a shot deflected narrowly wide and Harry Wilson almost opened the scoring in the 12th minute, only for the winger’s bending effort from the right to drop just beyond David Raya’s far post.
Arsenal responded through Riccardo Calafiori, a shade offside when he took Leandro Trossard’s layoff and battered a shot into the top corner, but the early flow was lacking. A lot of the play was in front of Fulham and the execution was poor when Declan Rice released Gyökeres. The striker had options but seemed too unsure of himself and was unable to find a teammate with a rushed cutback.
Would Arsenal need the old reliable – the set-piece – to unlock a tight, physical game? Much has been made of their deep squad, of how Arteta has sought to ensure injuries need not kill his team’s title challenge, but what if the wrong player drops out? The absence of Martin Ødegaard, out for six weeks with a knee injury, is a blow. The captain’s ability to take the ball and keep finding angles is a piercing weapon against deep defences. Eberechi Eze, on the other hand, is a different kind of No 10. He is more instinctive but with Sander Berge sitting in front of Fulham’s back four it was not easy for Eze to find space.
Arsenal’s patience was tested. Martín Zubimendi, Ødegaard’s replacement, slapped his thighs in annoyance after fluffing a simple ball in the 33rd minute. Bukayo Saka kept wriggling in from the right but was tracked carefully by Ryan Sessegnon and Alex Iwobi. Wilson slithered another shot wide.
Realising that they needed to show more intensity in possession, Arsenal upped the pace of their passing, pressing and movement. Saka finally escaped Sessegnon and freed Gyökeres, whose shot was pushed away by Bernd Leno. Calafiori fired over a minute later.
Fulham were seeing less of the ball and their task became harder when they were forced into a defensive change, Joachim Andersen making way for Issa Diop. However, they continued to fight and there was appreciative applause from the home fans when Iwobi raced back to halt a counterattack from Jurriën Timber just before half-time.
Arsenal were yet to click but there were better signs at the start of the second half. Eze’s cross reached Trossard, who screwed a shot wide. Berge almost scored an own goal after a brilliant, forceful run from Saka.
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The pressure from Arsenal was more persistent than imaginative. They worked the same patterns over and over again, repeatedly directing attacks down Saka’s flank, and backed themselves to wear Fulham down. Gyökeres, without ever looking refined, was a handful. He appealed in vain for a penalty after turning and tussling with Jorge Cuenca, then won a corner after spinning on to a pass from Eze.
Saka delivered. Gabriel Magalhães darted to the near post and flicked on for Trossard to volley in from close range. One-nil to Arsenal; it was all very minimalistic.
Now they had a platform to open up and express themselves. Saka darted to the left and stung Leno’s palms. He moved back to the right, cut inside and drew a clumsy lunge from Kevin, who had just replaced Josh King. It looked like an obvious penalty in real time; Anthony Taylor, though, was persuaded to overturn his decision when he viewed the pitchside monitor and concluded that Kevin had brushed the ball at the same time as bumping knees with Saka.
The game remained in the balance. Gyökeres spurned a chance to kill Fulham off, firing over after bulldozing past Cuenca. It did not matter. Arsenal’s defence was too solid for an equaliser ever to be a realistic prospect.
