Gabriel Martinelli heads home Arsenal's second goal at FulhamArsenal restored their five-point advantage at the top of the Premier League in outstanding fashion with a ruthless victory at Fulham.
Mikel Arteta's side responded to Manchester City's narrow victory at Crystal Palace on Saturday night by wrapping up this win by half-time as they opened up a 3-0 lead with a devastating attacking display.
Gabriel Martinelli had already had a goal narrowly ruled out for offside by VAR, before defender Gabriel headed in Leandro Trossard's corner after 21 minutes, the first of a trio of assists for the Belgian.
Trossard then crossed for Martinelli to beat the static Antonee Robinson to head home at the far post five minutes later, before providing the delivery for captain Martin Odegaard to snuff out any hope of a Fulham recovery with a cool finish of the highest class in first-half stoppage time.
Fulham mounted a belated threat after the break as Arsenal keeper Aaron Ramsdale denied Bobby De Cordova-Reid, while Tosin Adarabioyo headed against the woodwork.
Arsenal, however, were always in control and Arteta was able to re-introduce influential striker Gabriel Jesus for the first time since he required knee surgery after being injured playing for Brazil against Cameroon at the World Cup for a 13-minute cameo.
More to follow.
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Fulham
Squad number8Player nameWilsonSquad number21Player nameJamesLine-ups
Fulham
Formation 4-2-3-1
17Leno
2Tete4Tosin13Ream33Robinson
6Reed28Lukic
14De Cordova-Reid18Pereira11Solomon
9Mitrovic
17Leno2Tete4Tosin13Ream33Robinson6Reed28Lukic14De Cordova-Reid18PereiraSubstituted forWilsonat 76'minutes11SolomonSubstituted forJamesat 76'minutes9MitrovicSubstitutes
1Rodák8Wilson21James30Alves Morais31Diop35Francois38Harris40Wickens42RobinsonArsenal
Formation 4-3-3
1Ramsdale
4White12Saliba6Gabriel35Zinchenko
8Ødegaard5Partey34Xhaka
7Saka19Trossard11Martinelli
1Ramsdale4WhiteSubstituted forTomiyasuat 80'minutes12Saliba6Gabriel35ZinchenkoSubstituted forTierneyat 72'minutes8ØdegaardBooked at 74mins5Partey34Xhaka7SakaSubstituted forNelsonat 72'minutes19TrossardSubstituted forGabriel Jesusat 77'minutes11MartinelliSubstituted forFábio Vieiraat 77'minutesSubstitutes
3Tierney9Gabriel Jesus10Smith Rowe16Holding18Tomiyasu20Jorginho21Fábio Vieira24Nelson30TurnerLive Text
Match ends, Fulham 0, Arsenal 3.
Second Half ends, Fulham 0, Arsenal 3.
Fábio Vieira (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Tosin Adarabioyo (Fulham).
Attempt blocked. Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Corner, Fulham. Conceded by Gabriel Magalhães.
Foul by Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal).
Dan James (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Fábio Vieira (Arsenal) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Tosin Adarabioyo.
Attempt missed. Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Reiss Nelson.
Attempt missed. Harry Wilson (Fulham) left footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Harrison Reed.
Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Bernd Leno.
Attempt saved. Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Fábio Vieira.
Offside, Fulham. Tim Ream tries a through ball, but Aleksandar Mitrovic is caught offside.
Foul by Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal).
Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt blocked. Reiss Nelson (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Substitution, Arsenal. Takehiro Tomiyasu replaces Ben White.
Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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