Fulham - on the bus. Back in business

A truly massive statement from Arsenal in the title race.

The opening 45 minutes were arguably our most exciting half of 2026—the best since the home clash against Villa over the festive period. At that excitement was started from a bold decision to start Myles Lewis-Skelly in the middle. I expected to see Calafiori, Saka and Eze, but with Odegaard sidelined by that recurring knee issue—a genuine worry for the run-in—I’d feared we were going to ride on Zubimendi’s back once again.

But Mikel finally threw off the shackles, trusting Myles. He’s the better option for breaking the press, spinning and driving past markers, though admittedly, it’s a gamble. I get why Arteta’s been cautious. Yet, Myles, who was known this season to drop the ball in risky areas and cause counterattacks, worked like a clock today. No reckless risks, played the full 90, and had more touches than anyone bar the centre-backs. Proper engine room stuff.

MLS touch map - whoscored

It didn’t surprise me, because Myles’s strongest quality is top-tier mentality. Remember Bournemouth? He was one of our few bright sparks when the most were embarassing. After the game Arteta dropped a quote in press-conferences where he alluded to a potential mistake from his side:

“Maybe I should have done it earlier. But I have to do things when I think a player is ready. I knew it was a big risk, a player at his age who has never played this position”

If we can mould him into a regular option for next season, we’ve struck gold. With Arteta’s strong reluctance to trust Nørgaard, we’re really light in that area, and there’s no cheaper or better prospect than the kid who knows our club, teammates and bleeds for the badge.

The attacking trio—Eze, Trossard, and Saka—was firing on all cylinders. Dribbling past players, turning them around, drawing fouls, clinical passing. The foundation was set when Saka twisted Jimenez like a pretzel, and freely entered the Fulham box (where was the beefcake Robinson strolling?)—and FINALLY whipped a delicious cross that begged to be tucked home. By a true number nine.

1-0, early in the game again, we couldn’t have wished for a better start. Fulham had absolutely nothing in the first half going for them while we were purring. The flowing attacking football charged the fans, who produced the waves of energy that in its turn inspired the players for even more domination. This is a spiral that should be activated constantly at our ground (including the upcoming match on Tuesday), because it’s the advantage only the home team can leverage

We carved them open at will. There was one moment where White broke into the box, and instead of crossing to the far post, cut it back to a surrounded Trossard. I was ready to scream “Why?!”, but Leo just swivelled beautifully to get himself into the position below and chipped a ball for Calafiori to head—unfortunately, just offside.

It was not only that cross, unlike Myles, Ricky was all over the place once again. One time he was a right winger, crossing a ball into the box.

Another time, he was even higher up than Gyokeres (which I thought is not possible), trying to get into a rendez-vous with Bernd Leno.

Ricky, Ricky—we’ve missed the chaos you bring. The opposition had it far too easy when you weren’t there. And it wasn’t just Calafiori lighting it up. Rice was pulling off cutting passes like the one below.

But the real masterclass in passing again came from Mr. Eze. That 50-metre ball to find Gyökeres? World-class vision where an Arsenal fan doesn’t generally expect a vertical ball. A delicious piece of play.

A mouthwatering pass that Gyokeres was the first to catch. He held it up, waited for Saka’s run, and slid it through the two defenders. And B smashed it home, first-time, into the near corner. No messing about, a perfect assist and a perfect goal. That’s the pre-injury Saka we’ve been waiting for—back in business! And after Odegaard’s injury his form is the best piece of news we have for the run-in!

And even that was not enough! Six minutes later when the referee was about to blow the half-time whistle, we intercepted the ball in midfield, Trossard broke, and sent in a peach of a cross for Viktor. A brace for Viktor, which happened, because he was finally surrounded with enough technicians, so that we didn’t have to rely on him to connect our play (like we do with Havertz). With all the trio behind him with abilities to connect the play, we can leverage a number nine, whose main job is to pass the final verdict, and, boy, he did pass those verdicts today! It was a completely different look compared to the situation when he’s surrounded with other strollers, like Martinelli or Madueke. With enough creativity behind the team, he becomes a more useful tool in our locker, and one of the more efficient ones too!

I don’t know if I am trying to read too much into this, but it looked to me like Leno didn’t really try hard to save that header.

As you can see, he isn’t even stretching to catch it. Even if it caught him moving the wrong way, a keeper usually throws everything at it. Add that to the non-intensive pressing from some of our former players and early subs of their stars, like Wilson, and it paints a certain picture—one I’m more than happy to get on board with!

Regardless, it was a spectacular, dominating performance. Just look at the Opta graph below.

Attacking threat - OptaAnalyst

At halftime, Arteta made the smart call to take Saka off, protecting his fitness for the final push. He did the same later with Eze, Rice, and Gyokeres. Tuesday is just around the corner, and we need everyone firing to reach the Champions League final.

The second half was a bit of a non-event. Fulham had one decent chance in the 71st minute, but Raya stood firm. Arteta even went bald enough to give Dowman a run out in the middle of the park. Max was eager, and yeah, he was selfish—didn’t always pick the right pass—but this side lacks players with the arrogance, courage and confidence to take responsibility, so I’m not losing sleep over a bit of selfishness.

The biggest frustration was Gabriel Jesus. I can’t understand why he gets time to wear our shirt over and over again, when most of the time he is just embarrassing it. Honestly, if Arteta had put Martinelli at nine, I reckon we’d have bagged another goal.

Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to increase our half time lead even more, but the 3-0 is still quite a solid result. That what happens when you make brave decisions (instead of always sticking with a good old) and show trust in players that demonstrated they are capable to deliver. It was a statement that we are back in the business of a vigorous fight for the Premier League title, and a reminder that minimal wins are no longer sufficient for Manchester City, starting on Monday night.

But, honestly, all my focus is on the Atleti return leg on Tuesday. I expect Zubimendi back, alongside Hincapie and likely Martinelli, plus the usual suspects: Saka, Eze, Gyokeres, Rice, Saliba, Gabriel, and Raya. The only real question is right-back. Ben White was unconvincing again—he invited a couple of Fulham attacks for no reason, and I’d feel much safer with Mosquera there. That said, a back four of Hincapie, Gabriel, Saliba, and Mosquera isn’t the most creative. I’d start with Christian and bring on White if we’re chasing the game.

I’m feeling confident about the return leg, even considering the fact that Simeone rotated his whole side while we’ve been putting in full-blooded performances to stay in the title race. We’re riding high after Wednesday and today was another confidence-building outing. We’re playing Champions League football with real freedom and enjoyment.

And most importantly, the home crowd on Tuesday—who have only seen Arsenal reach the final of the biggest European tournament once before—should definitely understand the greatness of the occasion and bring the corresponding noise levels with them!