Match Report – Match Highlights – Post-Match Press Conference

Final Result: Fulham 0-3 Arsenal (Gabriel 22′, Martinelli 26′, Odegaard 46′)

Arsenal XI (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale; White (Tomiyasu 80′), Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko (Tierney 72′); Partey, Xhaka; Saka (Nelson 72′), Odegaard, Martinelli (F. Vieira 77′); Trossard (G. Jesus 77′)

Arsenal knew they had a different fish to fry following the draw against Sporting CP in Lisbon, but they came up against opponents that they had a very good record against. Fulham are one of the form teams in the Premier League post-World Cup, but they lost their last game to Brentford and were hoping to make amends against the League leaders. Tosin Adarabioyo replaced Issa Diop, and Cordova-Reid got the nod ahead of former Gunner, Willian, who was nursing a back issue.

Arsenal dominated the game from the onset with their slick passing play and possession football, so it wasn’t a surprise when the Gunners scored the first goal of the day, even though VAR spared Fulham’s blushes. Gabriel Martinelli teed up Granit Xhaka and made a slalom run in behind his marker, Tete. Xhaka timed his through ball to perfection, allowing Martinelli to curl one to Bernd Leno’s post, but the German shot stopper made a good save, parrying the ball to Antonee Robinson’s path, but the American fullback inadvertently bundled the ball into his own goal. It was a long wait for the VAR officials to do their thing, and after drawing the dreaded lines, it was adjudged that Martinelli was offside in the buildup. If only Lee Mason knew how to draw this line. Meh.

That set back didn’t deter the Gunners as they kept attacking, and Mikel Arteta’s side got their just rewards for their efforts with Gabriel jumping the highest to guide Leandro Trossard’s corner kick home. Goals from every part of the pitch are highly welcome, and its always good to see the central defenders getting in on the scoring act from time to time. The commentator mentioned that Arsenal had avoided defeat in their last 27 Premier League games when they scored the opening goal, with the last time breaking that record was Manchester City in January 2022.

The Arsenal fans were still basking in the euphoria of the match opener when the second goal arrived in quick succession. Some astute thinking from William Saliba at the back saw him dinked a sumptuous ball to Xhaka with his left foot. The Swiss cyborg wasted no time to teeing up Trossard who shimmied past his marker before lofting the ball to the danger area. Robinson unleashed his inner Trent Alexander-Arnold, showing off zero awareness as Martinelli got in front of him and nodded the ball home at point blank range. The Brazilian that had not scored in eight games now has five goals in his last four games. Red hot form indeed. 

Arsenal continued to show dominance with Fulham having nothing to offer, and it was almost 3-0 after some delicious football from Arteta’s men. Martin Odegaard, who had recovered from his illness, played a ball to Xhaka but the Swiss midfielder played a dummy, allowing it to roll to Trossard. Trossard, whose creative juices were flowing all afternoon, played a perfect ball that got to Xhaka’s feet, who rushed into the box, but the Swiss midfielder failed to connect with the ball, allowing the onrushing Leno to happily claim the ball. Arsenal continued to miss good chances that would have put the game beyond doubt, with Bukayo Saka and Odegaard working together on the right before feeding Martinelli. The Brazilian put a light touch to Trossard and the Belgian’s left-footed shot at close range missed its intended target.

Arsenal was clearly in the driver’s seat for this game, and it allowed some room for complacency, which was exhibited by Aaron Ramsdale. After receiving the ball, Ramsdale thought he was Tomas Rosicky, using the outside of his boot to pass the ball directly to Andreas Pereira. Aleksandr Mitrovic was unmarked in the box, but a rush of blood to the head saw Andreas blast it goalwards from an acute angle, and that good chance for Fulham went begging. 

On the Fulham defensive edge of the pitch that was constantly bombarded the way the Ottomans fiercely attacked Constantinople, Trossard found Saka on the byline, who cut the ball back to Ben White. The English fullback saw the run of Martinelli on the far post and swung in a delicate cross with his left foot, but Martinelli connected with the ball with his shin, instead of putting his laces through it, allowing Leno to make a good save.

Arsenal finally got the third goal their dominance deserved, when Trossard crossed the ball for the byline to Odegaard, who brought the ball under his spell, picked his spot, and dispatched the ball aplomb. That goals turned out to be a little piece of history as Trossard became the first player to register three assists in the first half of an away game in the Premier League. 

While the first half was high-octane stuff from the Gunners, the second half was a bit more subdued with Fulham resorting to Satanball in their attempt to salvage something from the game. The closest they came was when Tosin barraged his way in the box like Marvel’s Juggernaut to attack a corner, but the ball smashed the cross bar. The replays showed that it was actually Mitrovic that got his head on the ball, even if Tosin attacked it as well.

There was an emotional moment when Gabriel Jesus made his first appearance for the club since November 2022, replacing Trossard that had an excellent game. Jesus almost had his dream moment and of course, end his long standing goal drought (yes, #TheNorthRemembers) when Fabio Vieira teed him up with only Leno to beat but his shot was aimed straight at the goalkeeper who made the save. 

The win gave the Gunners the five point cushion on Manchester City, that narrowly beat Crystal Palace a day before. Everyone was happy to see Gabriel Jesus back on the pitch and we hope he gains full fitness soon, as he remains an essential cog in the well-oiled Arsenal machine. While we share our delight on the return of Jesus, the day belonged to Trossard, that put up a masterclass for the team. We thought he was going to be out for a long time when he suffered that groin injury against Bournemouth last week, so to see him out on the pitch and killing it was awesome to say the least. 

The Gunners have the business of the Europa League to contend with in midweek before inviting Patrick Vieira and his gang on Sunday. More on those games in the coming days.

Sayonara.

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Pandemonium at the Emirates!!

Match Report – Match Highlights – Post-Match Press Conference

Final Result: Arsenal 2-1 Fulham (Odegaard 64′, Gabriel 85′) | (Mitrovic 56′)

Arsenal XI (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney (Nketiah 61′); Elneny, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard (Holding 90′), Martinelli; Jesus (Tomiyasu 89′)

With Manchester City’s win over Crystal Palace propelling them to first place, Arsenal knew that only a victory against Fulham would keep their 100% record intact and take them back to the summit of the league. The Gunners’ caused wasn’t helped with the fact that there were some injury absences from Thomas Partey (tight thigh) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (sprained knee). Partey missed a considerable chunk of game time last season due to these same thigh issues, so it’s really a concern with the crunch clash against Manchester United in the horizon. However, Arsenal had good squad depth to compensate for the injury absences with the introductions of Kieran Tierney and Mo Elneny.

Fulham arrived at the Emirates in good form as well as going unbeaten, following two draws against Liverpool and Wolves, as well as last gasp win over Brentford, and all eyes were on their talismanic striker, Aleksandar Mitrovic, that had scored three goals in his first three Premier League games. The game also saw ex-Gunner, Bernd Leno, return to a place he once called home, and all eyes were on the big German to see if he could activate his inner Manuel Neuer, as all ex-Arsenal keepers do when they come to the Emirates.

Arsenal had the chance to open the scoring when Martin Odegaard swung in a sumptuous ball for Gabriel Jesus who cushioned a goal-bound chance for Granit Xhaka but the Swiss maverick didn’t connect well with the ball and guided it wide. With Xhaka in a more advanced role this season, we have seen the Swiss midfielder have so many touches in the box, as well as a goal against Leicester and a couple of assists.

The clearest chance of the game occurred late in the first half when Bukayo Saka was clean on goal, but the Fulham shot stopper, Leno, was on hand to make a big save. I know it’s just four games into the new campaign, but Saka hasn’t seemed to kick into the next gear, and we will need him to start firing soon, especially with Nicolas Pepe leaving the club to OGC Nice. 

Fulham got the first goal against the run of play when Gabriel Magalhaes dallied on the ball in front of his box, got robbed by Mitrovic, who wasted no time in slotting the ball past the onrushing Aaron Ramsdale. It was a terrible goal to concede in all ramifications, bearing in mind that Arsenal was on the ascendancy with Leno making two fine stops from Odegaard and Jesus, but the lads kept pushing and the home fans rallied their players on. The Gunners got the goal their play deserved when Odegaard latched onto Saka’s ball and blasted a shot that deflected off Tosin Adarabioyo’s shin which went past the petulant Leno.

That goal lifted the spirits of the Arsenal faithful and it was all about going for the kill, but Fulham weren’t pushovers. Fulham almost grabbed an unlikely winner when Ramsdale made an outstanding save from a Mitrovic point blank header, with Ben White blocking the rebound from De Cordova-Reid. Arteta brought on Eddie Nketiah for Tierney, making loads of tactical switches that saw Jesus move to the left, Martinelli to the right and Saka to left back, but eventually he switched back to default mode and the Gunners kept on pressing till they got the breakthrough in the 85th minute. 

Martinelli, whose deliveries left a lot to be desired in the course of the game, swung in a delightful corner that was attacked by William Saliba and Leno. The German goalie came out second best and Gabriel was on hand to side foot the ball into an unguarded net, sending the Emirates to raptures. There was some level of anxiety when the VAR folks did their thing, but in the end, it was given and Arsenal got a vital lead. After what seemed like an eternity of stoppage time, the ref’s whistle was like music to the ears of everyone connected with Arsenal, as sheer elation took center stage, with the Gunners returning to pole position in the Premier League. 

Rewind to last season and Arsenal was just winning their first game of the season against Norwich following their shambolic losses in a row. Oh! How things have changed at the Emirates.

Something is brewing in this Arsenal side and you can see the togetherness of the lads, management and fans. When Saliba scored an unfortunate own goal against Leicester, everyone rallied around him, encouraging him and lifting his spirits, and he went on to have a stellar game. Gabriel is a great player no doubt, but he has these moments when he loses concentration in critical periods, which go unpunished more times than not, but yesterday was different as it was a glaring error that led to a goal. He played like a man on a mission from that moment onwards, with support from everyone around him, and it was really pleasing to see that he turned out to be the man that secured a gritty victory for his side. Kudos to him

The tight Premier League schedule sees Aston Villa and yet another ex-Arsenal goalie, Emiliano Martinez, visit the Emirates, so we can bask on the euphoria of sitting at the summit of the Premier League for yet another week.

Sayonara

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