LONDON — weapon reestablish a five-point lead at the top of the table Premier League with a comfortable 3-0 win against Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday.
City of Manchester cut the deficit earlier this past weekend 1-0 win In Crystal Palace but the Gunners showed no sign of feeling the pressure as they took a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Gabriel, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard.
Fulham has improved a bit over time with Bobby De Cordova-Reid force Aaron Ramsdale on a clever save 69 minutes ago Alexander Mitrovic The shot hits the crossbar from a corner kick.
Gabriel Jesus returned from knee surgery to make his first appearance for Arsenal since November 6, and missed a late opportunity after coming on as a substitute. Fabio Vieira. But then the visitors clinched Mikel Arteta’s 100th win (including a penalty shootout win) in his 168th game as Arsenal manager, taking them a step forward. closer to the first league championship in 19 years.
rapid response
1. Arsenal responds perfectly as Man City continue to chase the title
Gunners arriving in west London face a rapid change from Thursday’s 2-2 draw In CP Sports. In the end, the preparation is probably the most difficult thing in this match. The Gunners have changed their travel plans, initially planning to train in Lisbon on Friday before an error hit multiple players and Arsenal opted to fly back from Portugal on Thursday night instead. .
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (US)
However, there was no sign of any ill effects as Arsenal effectively killed this off as a contest in the first 45 minutes. Fulham defeated Chelseadrawn with Liverpool and just lose Manchester United in overtime this season. So, in theory, this is yet another tough test of Arsenal’s title-winning ability, a tougher test given City are two points behind the table. However, they handled it with ease, managing the second half to the point where they could spend a few minutes on some of the team players and afford Bukayo Saka 18 minutes rest.
It is of course too early to tell if this will make a difference but Arsenal are once again well ahead of City on goal difference, currently just five points behind the champions with +37.
2. Trossard and Martinelli relieve pressure when Jesus returns
Arsenal fans’ pre-match excitement centered on the return of Gabriel Jesus, named on the bench for the first time since World Cup after undergoing knee surgery. The Brazilian has only recently returned to training and Arteta has emphasized the importance of avoiding rushing to bring Jesus back from injury. Leandro Trossard and Martinelli filling the void like this will make it much easier for you to resist that temptation.
Trossard, who recovered from a groin injury much earlier than expected, started midway here and Fulham simply couldn’t cope as he drifted left to overload defenders. Kenny Tete on that side. Trossard was not Arsenal’s first choice as they looked to strengthen their attacking options in January but after missing out on Chelsea in the race for the signature Mykhailo MudrykThe Gunners moved quickly to get an alternative.
These are still formative days in Trossard’s Arsenal career but the £27m signing from Brighton & Hove Albion looks more and more like an inspiration. He currently has one goal and five assists in nine Premier League appearances, three of which were against Fulham. Martinelli, meanwhile, looks to have left behind him an all-action performance.
Jesus has the last 13 minutes when this game ends as a competition; a gentle reintroduction to the next challenge to come.
3. Too early for Fulham to play
Although it is mid-March, this match has had a clear end-of-season period, bringing a summer holiday feeling to the home team. Fulham played strangely poorly from the start and although Arsenal played badly in the transition and attack, they soon conceded a goal due to the host’s passivity.
There are mitigating factors here, especially the absence of a pivotal midfielder Joao Palhinha through suspension. His midfield bite was lost in last Monday’s 3-2 loss brentford and even more so here given how flexibly Arsenal control the ball. former Arsenal winger Willian had a great season back in London but was ruled out late because of back problems with De Cordova-Reid, a disappointing vice-captain.
Fulham have exceeded all expectations in this campaign, despite predictions that they will be embroiled in a relegation battle to compete for a place in Europe. But this was the second defeat in a row and a particularly bad performance that Marco Silva must quickly go down in history if Fulham does not fall too badly in the remaining games. At least the next game will clear my mind: an FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester United (LIVE on Sunday, March 19 on ESPN+ in the US.)
Best and worst performers
THE BEST
Leandro Trossard, Arsenal: First player in Premier League history to have three assists in the first half of an away game.
Gabriel Martinelli, Arsenal: His combination of speed and goal has caused frequent alarms in Fulham’s backline.
Martin Odegaard, Arsenal: Another display of midfield influence was capped by a goal that netted him a league double for the first time in his career.
THE WORST
Kenny Tete, Fulham: Overwhelmed by Arsenal’s overload as the Gunners rioted in the first half with no threat ahead.
Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Fulham: Tried to produce anything like Willian’s impact and was always outside, except for a second-half strike that Ramsdale saved.
Aleksandar Mitrovic, Fulham: To be fair, he didn’t have much of an edge to earn, but lost more than half of his duels.
Highlights and remarkable moments
Things are going pretty well for Arsenal fans at the moment, but having Gabriel Jesus arrive at Craven Cottage for the first time since the World Cup should give them some extra motivation ahead of the game.
About which team ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Oaxm5TSTae
– Arsenal (@Arsenal) March 12, 2023
Those good vibes continued on the pitch thanks to Trossard’s first-half assist hat-trick, with a third assist for Odegaard to score.
An assist was worth a hat-trick for Leandro Trossard as Martin Odegaard scored his 50th goal for the club!
: @Peacock#MyPLMorning | #FULARS pic.twitter.com/6gbP4HIfjb
– NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) March 12, 2023
After the game: What the player/manager said
Quotes after the match will appear here…
Key stats (powered by ESPN Stats & Information research)
Gabriel scored his third goal of the season, with his first in a back-to-back against Fulham in August. Odegaard also scored in that 2-1 win.
Gabriel Martinelli’s 23 Premier League goals for Arsenal equal the total of Nicolas Anelka’s goals for the club (1997-99) aged 21 or under. Only teammate Bukayo Saka (27) has scored more goals at that age for the Gunners.
Leandro Trossard is the first player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick of assists in the first half of an away game.
Trossard’s three first-half assists were not the first in the Premier League this season; it was in august when Roberto Firmino did so in Liverpool’s 9-0 win over Bournemouth.
Arsenal have not failed to win a Premier League game where they have led by many goals since a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace in October 2019.
Next
Fulham: The Cottagers are just a game away from Wembley — if they can get their famous win over Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter-finals next Sunday (LIVE at 12:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ in the US) then they will reach the competition’s first semi-final since 2002.
Arsenal: The Gunners host Sporting CP in the Europa League last-16 second leg on Thursday, after drawing the first leg 2-2 in Portugal, before they welcome Crystal Palace – led by the former Arsenal captain, Patrick Vieira – arrives at Emirates in the Premier League on Sunday.
