Arsenal beat Fulham 3-0 to reignite their Premier League title race bid with focus now on their Champions League semi-final second leg and summer transfers
Arsenal have once again seized the initiative in the Premier League title race after Mikel Arteta’s team comnfortably overcame Fulham at home on Saturday.
The Gunners secured a 3-0 victory courtesy of a double from Viktor Gyokeres and a goal from Bukayo Saka, bringing an end to a challenging spell for Arsenal where goals had been scarce. The win swung the momentum back in their favour in the Premier League title chase.
Arsenal now sit six points clear of Manchester City with just three matches remaining, although City have two games in hand. Importantly, Arteta’s squad avoided any additional injuries ahead of another massive match on Tuesday – the tantalising prospect of a Champions League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid at home. Here’s all the latest news from the Emirates Stadium.
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Paul Merson’s ‘severe pressure’ assertion
Arsenal icon Paul Merson has claimed there will be “severe pressure” on Arsenal if City win their two games in hand, reports the Mirror.
The Gunners currently hold a slight psychological advantage over Pep Guardiola’s team, given they’ve already bagged six points, while City still need to secure victories in their two games in hand to equalise on points heading into the final trio of matches this season.
But former Arsenal midfielder Merson has cautioned it could become tricky for the north Londoners if they enter Sunday’s clash at West Ham level on points with City, considering the extra pressure they will experience.
Merson said: “If Man City win the next two games against Everton and Brentford, there’s severe pressure for Arsenal to beat West Ham.
“That is one hard game. West Ham are fighting for their lives in the Premier League. Then you don’t know what happens on Tuesday night, it might go to extra time. There’s so much to go with it.
“If I had to pick a team [to win the title] at the moment, I’d have to pick Arsenal because of the fixtures that Man City have got. They have to play Everton and Bournemouth and they’re difficult matches.”
Ian Wright vindicated over Gyokeres
Ian Wright has been vindicated after suggesting Arsenal recruited Gyokeres to find the net against sides beyond the traditional big six.
When Gyokeres arrived for approximately £64m last summer, certain pundits questioned his impressive goal-scoring record at Sporting CP by arguing the bulk of his strikes came against inferior opposition in the Portuguese league.
Wright, who was himself a lethal finisher for the Gunners during his prime, instead maintained that Arsenal were one natural goalscorer short of clinching the title in previous campaigns.
Despite Gyokeres’ evident difficulties in his debut season in N5, he has now notched 21 goals across all competitions. With two of those vital strikes arriving against Fulham, the Swede vindicated Wright’s earlier claims.
Speaking following the victory over Fulham, Wright reiterated his stance, telling Premier League Live: “People have been saying for many years Arsenal need to get a striker. Then we get the striker and people say he’s not good enough.
“You have to say 21 goals, obviously 12 in the Premier League, says that he’s done the job for us. He did the job for us today and I’m sure against the teams we’ve got coming like West Ham, I think he could probably put in the same kind of performance and probably nick another couple of goals.
“If he only scores against those kind of teams that’s what Arsenal have always needed. They don’t have problems scoring against the top six, it’s the other teams like the Fulhams and the Wolves and the teams like that we’ve had problems scoring against. He’s come in and he’s kind of solved that problem for us.”
‘Diamond’ transfer
Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit has urged Arteta to sign ‘diamond’ Endrick this summer.
The Brazilian has found regular game time difficult to come by since joining Real Madrid from Palmeiras in a £52m deal in the summer of 2024.
One of the hottest prospects in world football moved to Lyon on loan for more playing time and experience and is performing well for Paulo Fonseca’s side, having scored seven goals – four in Ligue 1, two in the Coupe de France, and one in the Europa League.
But the 19-year-old is unlikely to break into the Madrid starting line-up next season when he returns to Spain, given Kylian Mbappe holds that role.
Ex-midfield general Petit thinks his former side should try to snap up the talented striker. The France icon said: “He’s so young, only 19 years old.
“He’s very talented, very gifted, but he’s like a crazy horse with a lot of energy. On the pitch, sometimes he’s a little bit too selfish. But at the same time, he knows he has huge qualities.
“He needs to be in the right environment to improve and develop because this guy is a diamond. What kind of club would be very good for him? Given his qualities, I would love for him to come to Arsenal, to be honest with you.”