Arsenal news: The Gunners resumed their five-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League as they defeated Fulham 3-0 at Craven Cottage
Arsenal responded to Manchester City’s win over Crystal Palace in emphatic style as they defeated London rivals Fulham 3-0 on Sunday.
The Gunners had their lead cut at the top of the Premier League to only two points on Saturday after Erling Haaland’s 27th league goal of the season handed Pep Guardiola’s men all three points at Selhurst Park.
However, Mikel Arteta saw his side restore their initial five-point lead courtesy of three first-half goals from Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard. The win was Arsenal’s 21st in the league from 27 games.
Fulham presented little trouble to Aaron Ramsdale’s goal throughout the contest. Alongside a first clean sheet since the win over Everton, the north Londoners were also greeted with a huge boost in their title aspirations as striker Gabriel Jesus returned from a long-term knee injury.
All seems to be going well on-the-pitch and after opening the scoring with a well-taken header, Gabriel showcased the relationship between the players and Arteta’s backroom staff by celebrating the goal with the club’s set-piece specialist Nicolas Jover.
Jover moved to the Emirates Stadium last summer to reunite with Arteta after they worked together at Man City. His work in both attacking and defending set-pieces have been highlighted this season and it seems he played a part in Gabriel’s goal.
Following the win, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp heaped praise on the Gunners’ set-pieces. “Arsenal have got 12 goals from set pieces, it’s something they’ve massively improved on from previous years,” he said when analysing the goal.
“Fulham defend in a zonal situation so Arsenal get all their players at the back post and you can see that Arsenal identify this and really get a run on the team. Tosin – number four – has a problem and then Thomas Partey plays a big part as he bumps him out of the way and then that leaves the space for Gabriel to come in.”
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