Arsenal 3 Fulham 0 - Gyokeres and Saka inspire rampant display to take leaders six points clear

AFC BournemouthArsenalAston VillaBrentfordBrighton & Hove AlbionBurnleyChelseaCrystal PalaceEvertonFulhamLeeds UnitedLiverpoolManchester CityManchester UnitedNewcastle UnitedNottingham ForestSunderlandTottenham HotspurWest Ham UnitedWolverhampton WanderersScores & ScheduleStandingsFantasyThe Athletic FC NewsletterPodcastsArsenal's Derby ChallengeMan Utd 'Better in Both Boxes'Victor Wanyama InterviewPL Title Race Viktor Gyokeres celebrates scoring against Fulham Warren Little/Getty Images Share articleNerves, what nerves? Arsenal’s pursuit of the Premier League title has been hard going of late, with tension to the fore and goals hard to come by. But Mikel Arteta’s side blew Fulham away at Emirates Stadium on Saturday with a scintillating first-half display — so good it brought the unusual sight of a standing ovation at the break — which laid the foundation for one of their most straightforward wins of the season. Perhaps significantly, it also gave their goal difference a welcome boost in a title race where that could be pivotal. Two goals from Viktor Gyokeres and one from Bukayo Saka secured the victory, with the second half a much more mundane affair. The result moves Arsenal six points (and four goals) above second-placed Manchester City. The leaders have three games still to play, while Pep Guardiola’s side have five matches remaining. Oliver Kay and Art de Roche analyse the key talking points. After months of stressful and cagey matches, Arsenal finally looked like they were enjoying their football against Fulham. Whether it was Riccardo Calafiori popping up on the right wing, Saka putting opposition players on their backsides, or the interchanges between Eberechi Eze and Leandro Trossard, there was a liberation to Arsenal’s play that has not been there often this season. Arteta using Declan Rice as a No 6 to unleash his forward-thinking players played a part, but there were other contributing factors. Each player showed an intent to play forward as quickly as possible, which was best seen with Saka’s goal, Arsenal’s second. Eze’s quick ball in behind for Gyokeres to chase and the centre-forward’s confidence after receiving the pass were refreshing moments that should have been more frequent throughout the season. That intent was clear within two minutes, as Trossard fired a shot just wide. Gyokeres’ opener coming on nine minutes also means that Arsenal have doubled their tally for goals inside the opening 10 minutes of Premier League matches this season (four), having scored just two before Eze’s strike against Newcastle United last week. Arteta also used combinations that have worked well in the past. Arsenal’s best play on the left wing this season came in an eight-game stretch when Calafiori and Trossard started together between September and November — a partnership that was reinstated against Fulham. While some of these players start regularly, the combination of more technical footballers with a forward-thinking mindset brought a freshness to Arsenal’s play. Although they could not fully capitalise on that in the second half, Arteta will hope the energy from one of the best Emirates atmospheres of the season will carry into upcoming matches. If it was Arsenal’s best performance in months, the same can certainly be said of Saka, who laid on the opening goal for Gyokeres and scored the second before making way for Noni Madueke at half-time. Arsenal’s supporters will hope his withdrawal was nothing more than a precaution with an eye on Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid. This was the Saka they know and love, terrorising the opposition, a constant threat on the right flank. That has not been the case for much of this campaign or indeed last, with the England winger’s contributions punctuated by injuries. From 25 Premier League goal contributions in both 2022-23 (14 goals and 11 assists) and 2023-24 (16 goals and nine assists), Saka made 16 goal contributions (six goals and 10 assists) last season and only nine (six goals and three assists) in his first 28 league appearances this term. He has been far from alone, as a creative talent, in struggling to reach the heights in this season’s Premier League, but here were some timely reminders of his wonderful ability. The way he turned Raul Jimenez inside-out before setting up the opening goal was classic Saka, as was the way he caught Bernd Leno by surprise at the near post to score Arsenal’s second to take him up to his fourth assist and seventh goal of this Premier League campaign. On this form, Saka can have a huge say in the final weeks of the season — provided, of course, he is fit and raring to go. For much of this season, Gyokeres has found himself cast in some quarters as a reason why Arsenal might not win the Premier League title — rather than a reason why they might. He is not Erling Haaland in the goalscoring stakes and he is no Dennis Bergkamp or Thierry Henry when it comes to elegance or poise. But then again, who is? The goals Gyokeres scored against Fulham were his 13th and 14th of this Premier League campaign. Only three players (Haaland, Brentford’s Igor Thiago and Manchester City’s Antoine Semenyo) have scored more, all of them having had far more playing time than Gyokeres. This was perhaps the Sweden forward’s best all-round performance since his arrival from Sporting CP last summer. The goals he scored were classic poacher’s efforts — getting ahead of his marker to meet Saka’s low cutback in the six-yard box and then pulling away to meet Trossard’s perfect cross with a header — but equally pleasing was his involvement in the second goal, a purposeful run into the channel, an adroit turn away from Joachim Andersen and a clever pass for Saka to put Arsenal 2-0 up. There have been games when Arteta has looked for a different approach in attack, preferring the guile of Kai Havertz or Gabriel Jesus, but Gyokeres has certainly made an impact over the course of the season in both the Premier League and the Champions League. He is now up to 21 goals in all competitions, which sounds pretty impressive for a supposed weak link. There have been a few false dawns when it comes to Myles Lewis-Skelly having an opportunity to play in midfield for Arsenal, but he grasped it when it finally came. Using Rice as a No 6 worked away against Atletico Madrid, while Martin Zubimendi came into this weekend as Arsenal’s most-used outfield player (4,088 minutes), so giving him a rest before the Champions League semi-final second leg made sense. This was Lewis-Skelly’s 70th appearance for the first team, but his first start in the position that he spent his academy years mastering. Back then, it was his driving runs with the ball that made him stand out, but this match required him to be more thoughtful and industrious. The England international dropped deeper than Rice in possession to help Arsenal set the pace of the game, but helped inject energy with his defensive contributions. He had bite when defending just outside the Arsenal box, and in midfield his interceptions helped kick-start counter-attacking situations for his side. Involved in multiple aerial battles in the opening exchanges of the game, he settled quickly and maintained his levels more consistently than he had done in previous performances. By the time he pulled out one of those trademark turns and dribbles just after the hour mark, the Emirates had already sung a rendition of his ’49, 49, Lewis-Skelly’ chant. Whether or not Arteta gives the 19-year-old more Premier League minutes in midfield this season, the question of whether or not he could have done so earlier in the campaign will be asked. Tuesday, May 5: Atletico Madrid (Home), Champions League semi-final second leg, 8pm UK, 3pm ET Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms