Bukayo Saka marked his return from injury by scoring the winning goal as Arsenal beat Fulham 2-1 in the Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium in London on Wednesday early morning IST.
The victory reduced Arsenal’s points gap with the current leaders of the English Premier League 2024-2025 standings, Liverpool, to nine points. The Gunners are in second place with 61 points, while Fulham are stuck in eighth place with 45 points.
Arsenal dominated the first half but struggled to create clear-cut chances. They only broke the deadlock in the 37th minute when Ethan Nwaneri crossed for Mikel Merino, whose shot took a deflection to beat the visitors.
It was Merino’s fifth goal in eight games for Arsenal and has made him one of the mainstays of the Arsenal front line with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus both injured.
Saka came on as a 66th minute substitute for Nwaneri. Saka’s introduction was marked by a warm welcome from the home supporters at the Emirates Stadium.
It took the England international just eight minutes to score his 10th goal of the season, Saka’s close-range finish coming from Gabriel Martinelli’s cross.
Fulham striker Rodrigo Muniz then missed a great chance to reduce the deficit in the 80th minute, heading wide. Muniz could only make amends in the 90th minute, scoring Fulham’s only goal of the game.
Lineups:
Arsenal: David Raya, Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey, Declan Rice, Ethan Nwaneri, Mikel Merino, Gabriel Martinelli
Coach: Mikel Arteta
Fulham: Bernd Leno, Issa Diop, Joachim Andersen, Jorge Cuenca, Timothy Castagne, Sander Berge, Sasa Lukic, Antonee Robinson, Adama Traore, Emile Smith Rowe, Raul Jimenez
Coach: Marco Silva
