Arsenal 3-0 Fulham: Gyökeres' brace & Saka's goal help Gunners go 6 points clear

Viktor Gyokeres scored twice and Bukayo Saka was also on target as Arsenal went six points clear at the top of the Premier League with an easy 3-0 win over Fulham.

Match Report 

The Gunners showed no signs of title nerves as they scored all three goals in a one-sided first half, allowing Mikel Arteta to rest some of his key players in the second period.

There were only nine minutes on the clock when Arsenal made the breakthrough, as Saka – in for his first start since the EFL Cup final – turned Raul Jimenez inside-out before centring for Gyokeres to tap home.

The Gunners were completely on top and should have gone 2-0 up in the 27th minute, when Bernd Leno made a reflex save to thwart Gyokeres and Saka skewed wide on the follow-up.

Riccardo Calafiori saw a towering header from Leandro Trossard's cross chalked off for offside following a VAR review, but Arsenal doubled their lead when Saka lashed inside Leno's near post in the 40th minute, following some strong hold-up play from Gyokeres.

Gyokeres then clinched his brace four minutes into first-half stoppage time, redirecting Trossard's hanging cross from the left past Leno. 

Arteta withdrew Saka at half-time and did likewise with Gyokeres and Declan Rice just after the hour mark, though Arsenal almost added a fourth goal when Calafiori's header was touched onto the crossbar by Leno.

The Gunners are now six points clear of Manchester City, who play the first of their two games in hand at Everton on Monday. Fulham remain 10th in the table, three points off the top six.

Data Debrief: Gunners finally fire on all cylinders

Arsenal looked overcome with nerves when they lost 2-1 at home to Bournemouth last month, and though their most recent outing at the Emirates Stadium ended in a 1-0 victory over Newcastle United, there were similar signs in that match.

It was a different story here, as Arsenal generated 2.39 non-penalty expected goals (xG) by half-time – the third-highest tally by any team in a Premier League game this season, after Bournemouth against Chelsea in December (2.77) and Man City against Leeds United in November (2.67).

The Gunners finished the match with 18 shots and 2.97 xG, compared to Fulham's paltry 0.43 xG from 10 attempts.

Gyokeres and Saka were the stars of the show, with the Swede being involved in three goals in a Premier League match (two goals, one assist) for the very first time.

Gyokeres now has 21 goals in all competitions this season, becoming the first Arsenal player to net 20 or more in their debut campaign since Alexis Sanchez in 2014-15 (25).

Saka, meanwhile, reached 150 goal involvements for Arsenal in all competitions (80 goals, 70 assists), while Gyokeres is the 18th different player the England international has assisted in the Premier League.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

3' Trossard's shot wide out

9' Brilliance from Saka before a cross is met by Gyokeres! Arsenal 1-0 Fulham

14' Trossard's shot wide out

23' Yellow Card! Lukic booked

29' VAR disallow the goal. Calafiori is offside. Shame because it was a nice goal

38' Highlight from Arsenal vs Fulham

40' Saka finishes off a mesmerising move to double advantage! Arsenal 2-0 Fulham

44' Skelly almost scores

45' Eze's shot wide out

48' Jimenez's shot wide out

49' Trossard picks Gyokeres out with a delicious cross! Arsenal 3-0 Fulham

57' Match Event for Arsenal vs Fulham

63' Rice, Gyokeres 🔛 Zubimendi, Jesus

72' Match Event for Arsenal vs Fulham

73' Raya makes a great save!

83' White 🔛 Mosquera

Line-ups

Arsenal XI: Trossard, David Raya, Rice, Viktor Gyökeres, Gabriel, Ben White, Eberechi Eze, Saliba, Saka, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly

Subs: Christian Nørgaard, Kepa, Jesus, Martín Zubimendi, Martinelli, Madueke, Hincapie, Cristhian Mosquera, Max Dowman

Fulham XI: Leno, Jimenez, Andersen, Lukic, Castagne, Harrison Reed, Harry Wilson, Antonee Robinson, Chukwueze, Smith Rowe, Calvin Bassey

Subs: Tom Cairney, Benjamin Lecomte, Tete, Diop, Jorge Cuenca, Bobb, Rodrigo Muniz, Jonah Kusi-Asare, Josh King