Arsenal easily defeated Fulham and extended their lead over Manchester City with a dominant victory. This victory allowed Arteta's team to expand their lead over Manchester City to 6 points. Manchester City, coached by Guardiola, is about to face Everton and strive to narrow the gap in points.
Here are some key conclusions from this game:
[Henry made a low-key appearance at the Emirates Stadium to watch Arsenal vs. Fulham]
As a legendary star of Arsenal, Henry came to the Emirates Stadium in person to watch the contest between Arsenal and Fulham during the 2025/26 Premier League season.
During the first half of the game, the broadcast camera captured Henry, who was sitting in the stands with his friends to watch the game. This Henry wanted to be as low-key as possible to avoid being noticed by everyone, so he wore a hat and tried to avoid the eyes of the camera.
It is obvious that the famous French star came to the scene with the purpose of seeing Arsenal achieve a big victory and take another small and crucial step towards becoming the Premier League champion.
【Calm down and calm down! Calafiore teases Fulham players]
Calafiore proved with his performance why he can start the game.
Shortly before Dzhekeresh broke the deadlock, the Italian defender found himself in a sticky situation in his own half.
Immediately afterwards, Calafio controlled the ball steadily and calmly passed another Fulham player who came to block, fully demonstrating his extremely strong ball-holding skills!
This defender from Italy deserves a place in the starting lineup based on his performance. His performance at the left back position has always been outstanding and left a very deep impression on people.
[Dzekielesh scored to help Arsenal take the lead – Saka's wonderful support was indispensable]
Nine minutes into the game, Saka received the ball on the right wing and was one-on-one with Raul Jimenez. Faced with this situation, Saka chose to take the initiative to break through, and then he used a very wonderful change of direction to successfully pass Jimenez and leave his opponent behind him.
Subsequently, Saka made a precise pass and successfully found Dzekeresh. After that, Dzekeresh easily pushed and scored, helping the Gunners take the lead.
Dzhekeresh became a Gunners player. After Sanchez (25 goals) in the 2014/15 season, he scored more than 20 goals in all competitions in his first season with Arsenal. He, Haaland and Igor Thiago became the only three players to achieve this achievement this season.
Saka is only one away from the Premier League assist milestone of 50 assists.
[Calafiore’s goal was disallowed]
In the middle of the first half of the game, Saka once again sent a cross, and then Eze was blocked when he shot. Then the ball fell to Trossard's feet, and then Trossard passed the ball to Calafiore with a rub.
The Italian defender attacked the goal with a header and completed a wonderful goal. However, unfortunately, VAR intervened and based on this judgment, the goal was no longer valid. Calafiore was obviously in an offside position, and he had an annoyed look on his face, which also acquiesced to the referee's decision.
[Saka scored for Arsenal in style]
In the 40th minute of the game, he made an incomparable coordination with Dzekeresh, and then he struggled to hit a powerful and unstoppable shot. The ball flew straight towards the dead corner of the net.
After celebrating with his teammates, Saka knelt down on one knee again and pointed his finger towards the sky. This action obviously has a meaning. He used this action to express his gratitude for being able to score this key goal.
[Saka returns with full blood and becomes a god]
Saka has not started for Arsenal in the Premier League since mid-March. Even if he came back later, it took him a while to find his peak form. However, against Fulham here, he completely returned to his best level again.
Throughout the game, he constantly attacked the opponent's defender Robinson. With his extremely powerful skills, he directly promoted Dzhekeresh to score his first record goal. After that, Saka also scored a goal himself, kicking Fulham's goal with a powerful shot from close range.
This goal changed his embarrassing situation of not scoring in 11 consecutive Premier League games at the Emirates Stadium. If he can maintain his high profile from this moment until the end of the season, then he is fully capable of leading Arsenal to the Premier League championship.
The only hidden danger was that Saka was replaced by Madueke at halftime. What the outside world expects is that this substitution is just a protective rest to prepare for the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals against Atletico Madrid.
[Zhekelesh scored twice]
During the first half of stoppage time, Arsenal launched an efficient and sharp counterattack. Their offensive was extremely threatening and showed a tendency to crush their opponents. At this time, Trossard received the ball from the left and began to advance forward, taking the ball to the outer area of the penalty area.
The Belgian winger was keenly aware of Dzekeresh in the penalty area, and then delivered a cross with an extremely good placement.
Dzhekeresh headed the ball from a tricky angle and hit the target steadily. Fulham's goalkeeper was completely incapable of making a save.
At the same time, this goal is the Swedish forward's 14th goal in the Premier League this season. His current situation continues to show a trend of getting stronger and braver.
The passion could not be concealed. Arsenal led Fulham by a big score of 3-0, and Arteta celebrated passionately on the sidelines.
Arsenal had already taken a huge 3-0 lead in the first half, and team coach Arteta was filled with joy and joy. After witnessing Dzekielesh successfully scoring his second goal of the game, Arteta, who was on the sideline of the coaching bench, could not suppress his excitement. He paced back and forth next to the field, his mood was extremely high, and his celebrations were full of enthusiasm and excitement.
For Arsenal, this huge victory is of great significance. They defeated Fulham by a big score and further increased their team's goal difference advantage.
The camera captured the famous scene. Arsenal's little fans were very cute and celebrated in a fancy way when Dzekielesh scored Fulham's goal.
Arsenal was leading by a large margin, which caused many people who were Arsenal fans at the scene to trigger enthusiastic carnivals. At the moment when Dzekeresh scored, the broadcast camera captured the scene of an energetic young fan celebrating in the stands of the Emirates Stadium.
Watching the game with his father in his arms, the young Arsenal fan cheered in an infectious way and was full of enthusiasm after witnessing his team's dream start.
[Arsenal’s defense is rock solid]
When the situation emerged with a big lead, Arsenal chose to take the initiative to shrink the defense line and concentrate on solid defense to deal with the opponent's counterattack. The defense line composed of Gabriel Magalhães, Ben White, and Calafiore reached full concentration and blocked the goal many times.
Goalkeeper Raya also had a highlight performance. He made many saves from very close distances and successfully blocked the opponent's powerful shot. The overall defense formed an extremely tight formation. The players coordinated defense to reach the precise position of defense. There were no loopholes in the blocking of key positions, the scramble for the ball in the air, and the filling of the wings. Even after being besieged by the opponent for a long time with high intensity, he still maintained the victory with zero seals, fully demonstrating the strength of the defense capable of competing for the championship.
[Arteta follows Guardiola’s example and plays with positional changes]
Manchester City coach Guardiola, who has always been good at transforming full-backs into midfielders, will also use midfielders as guest defenders.
Arteta used to engage in further study under Guardiola, and it would not be surprising if he now imitates his tactical thinking.
In this game, he used the youngster Miles Lewis-Skelly trained by his family and let him partner with Rice in the middle of the midfield. The performance of this young midfielder is very sophisticated, as if he has been playing in this position all year round.
Miles Lewis-Skelly is extremely capable when intercepting and stealing. He shows a calm and steady posture when holding the ball, building a reliable barrier in front of Arsenal's defense. This is only his fourth start in the Premier League this season, but he has been able to adapt to an unfamiliar position without any hindrance, and his performance is worthy of praise.
Some Arsenal fans commented that Arteta was extremely bold and led Skelly to sit in the midfield position. Such employment can be called a stroke of genius. Skelly's current performance in the midfield is really amazing. He shows a positive trend in running, dares to take the initiative to ask for the ball, and his self-confidence is already full. He partnered with Rice and controlled the rhythm of the midfield very well. Eze is accustomed to waiting for backcourt players to pass the ball to him, but Skelly filled this gap perfectly.
Rice serves as a pure defensive midfielder, and he himself is full of enthusiasm for interceptions; in contrast, Subimendi is not good at doing the so-called dirty work, but is more inclined to organize and advance forward.
Are there any Arsenal fans who say this? I have to say that Fulham is not strong enough. But on the other hand, Skelly in the midfield position brings a particularly aggressive style of play. Saka is very agile in handling the ball, Trossard is also very agile in handling the ball, and Rice is also very agile in handling the ball. Calafiore revitalized the left wing. Except for Ben White, who is in a sluggish state at the moment, and Eze, who sometimes seems relatively sloppy, Arsenal is playing much sharper. Dzekeresh's performance was a perfect score, and Saka's performance was also a perfect score.
There are actually Arsenal fans who expressed this view: how exquisite and wonderful the tactical arrangements are, how perfect the performance is on the field, and winning the game seems to be easy and not difficult. However, Fulham obviously has to replace the center player in the team this summer.
Dzhekeresh's movement was extremely smart, Saka's off-the-ball movement was eye-popping, Rice's defensive performance was solid, and Skelly successfully won a lot of physical confrontations in the midfield.
I feel that in the Champions League semi-finals, Arteta will not directly put Subimendi on the bench and switch to Skelly. This double midfielder combination is actually an excellent alternative when playing against Atletico Madrid.
[Write at the end]
With only the last three rounds of the league left, Arsenal holds a 6-point lead.
Assuming that Manchester City loses to Everton, Arsenal only needs to win at least two more games to determine the Premier League championship early.
Arsenal defeated Fulham by a large margin. This result further improved its goal difference and at the same time added an extremely important chip to win the championship.
Naturally, the suspense of the championship is far from over. If Manchester City beats Everton and wins all the make-up games, there is a possibility of tying the points and then overtaking.
But it is undeniable that the initiative in the Premier League title race has returned to Arsenal's hands.
Some Arsenal fans commented that Saka has obviously returned to his peak form. When Saka plays smoothly, Arsenal as a whole also plays smoothly. Dzhekeresh played extremely well. This is his best game since wearing an Arsenal shirt. Arsenal often play very comfortably when they encounter opponents who do not take the initiative to press high. Fulham hardly puts any pressure on us.
Calafio has a very high football IQ. As long as he is on the playing field, it is like the team has added an extra midfielder and an attacker. His presence is everywhere and he can connect the entire field.
Miles Lewis-Skelly showed an extremely outstanding performance in the midfield, which makes people wonder, that is, as a coach, why was he not used more early on?
Scoring 3 goals is of great significance. If the final Premier League championship is determined by goal difference, then these 3 goals will most likely become the key factor in determining the outcome.
Those who hold the opinion of Arsenal fans directly stated that the first half was so stunning that the second half became a mere formality. This is indeed the style of play we were familiar with at the start of the season. The players were given the opportunity to rest, and their state and confidence were fully mobilized to a full level. Not only did they achieve a clean sheet against opponents, but the number of goal differentials also increased further.
Winning a perfect game, at the same time, it put great pressure on Manchester City, who went to Everton to play away and fight a tough battle.
In the second half, the whole team slowed down the pace and kept some energy to continue the game. However, this turned out to be a good thing. During this process, no one suffered serious injuries, and they successfully preserved their physical fitness for the Champions League.
Next, focus on preparing for the Champions League. May May erase all the bad memories of April. "
