Arsenal fire Man City Premier League title warning as three stars make statement

Viktor Gyokeres scored twice and Bukayo Saka was also on target as Arsenal cruised to a 3-0 victory over Fulham to underline their ambitions to beat Manchester City to the Premier League crown.

Kai Havertz's injury was supposed to have dented Arsenal's Premier League title charge. Instead, it has sparked Viktor Gyokeres, who is seemingly on a one-man mission to fire the Gunners to a historic double, into life.

After blasting home the penalty he won at Atletico Madrid's Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Wednesday evening, Gyokeres struck twice and also helped himself to assist to inspire a brutal and one-sided demolition of Fulham.

Not only was fellow goalscorer Bukayo Saka back to his brilliant best but Arsenal have now racked up a precious six-point lead over second-place Manchester City before their awkward trip to Everton.

Say it quietly because there are undoubtedly further twists and turns in store but in this sort of bloodthirsty form, the Gunners will take some stopping.

That said, it's all well and good crushing Fulham but dark-arts masters Atletico are in town on Tuesday and they appear set on derailing Arsenal's season.

If Mikel Arteta's hungry competitors can put together a performance as good as this, reaching the Champions League final will be a formality.

Diego Simeone rotated his entire starting XI before winning 2-0 at Valencia on Saturday, and that is sadly a luxury Arsenal cannot afford during the run-in.

But there was a refreshing feel to the Premier League leaders amid five bold changes and an exuberant energy that rippled right through the spine of the team from front to back.

It's perplexing that this was Myles Lewis-Skelly's first senior start in midfield because he was arguably Man of the Match and that begs the question whether he's been underused this term.

Eberechi Eze had joy in pockets, dragging Fulham's bamboozled backline out of joint and just as they did one week ago against Newcastle, the hosts broke the deadlock on nine minutes.

On his long-awaited return to the starting XI, Saka turned red-faced Raul Jimenez inside out, leaving the Mexican on his backside before squaring for Gyokeres to tap home his 20th goal of the season in all competitions.

Fulham, alongside City, were one of two sides that had not conceded a goal inside the opening 15 minutes of a top-flight match this season.

It wasn't long before they were picking the ball out of the net again, however, as Riccardo Calafiori glanced home, only to be flagged offside following a VAR check. That did not deter Arsenal, though, as purring marksman Gyokeres turned provider for Saka to hammer in the second.

The centre-forward, whose hold-up play has improved tenfold in the past two matches, chased and controlled a long ball before pausing and feeding Saka, who arrowed his low strike into the bottom corner before being substituted at the break.

Mikel Arteta's top goalscorer wasn't finished there either and rose high to meet Leandro Trossard's pinpoint cross, looping his header over Bernd Leno on the stroke of half-time.

Trossard fed Gyokeres again after the break and sent the 21-goal frontman racing through but this time around, Leno's big outstretched paw denied him his first Gunners hat-trick.

Arsenal, who added some much-needed gloss to their goal difference, could not find a fourth despite Calafiori rattling the crossbar with a powerful header.

Gyokeres and Declan Rice were also subbed after an hour in preparation for Tuesday's heavyweight European showdown, making this the perfect evening's work.