Arsenal 3-0 Fulham: We needed that

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After weeks of has felt like the most intense grind, Arsenal gave us some much needed calm yesterday with an excellent performance, a clean sheet, first half goals and, of course, the three points we had to get.

The last time we scored more than one goal in a game was on March 17th when we beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0; the last time we scored three, or more, was in February when we beat that lot in the North London derby. There’s an old adage about waiting ages for a bus then three come at once, but we’ve just had one bus at a time. Yesterday, a whole fleet arrived, and it felt good. We needed it, and by we I mean the team and the fans.

The team looked good, with Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka back either side of Viktor Gyokeres, and with Martin Zubimendi rested, there was a first midfield start for Myles Lewis-Skelly. An interesting aspect of this was the 19 year old not being told he was starting there until a few minutes before the team was announced. We know Mikel Arteta is a man whose focus on preparation is second to none, so there was clearly something at play here, and I think it’s fair to say it worked.

We looked good early on, and much like last week against Newcastle, we took an early lead. A free kick in their half came to Saka on the right, and oh boy have we missed this version of Bukayo Saka. He absolutely roasted Raul Jimenez, drove into the box, fizzed a low ball in and Gyokeres was there to make it 1-0. Superb from Saka, and the centre-forward exactly where you’d want him. Just what we needed. Then it was about whether or not we could build on it.

There were some nearly moments, a Trossard shot that went wide; a couple of shaky claims from Bernd Leno, one of which saw him drop it and get back to make a very good save from Gyokeres before Saka put the rebound wide; and then a Riccardo Calafiori ‘goal’ which was ruled out for offside. The intent was there from Arsenal, even if the cushion on the scoreboard hadn’t quite arrived yet.

But it did. Ben White won the ball on halfway, Eberechi Eze played a quick ball down the inside-right channel which Gyokeres ran on to and held up really well. It hasn’t always been a strength of his this season, but you couldn’t have asked for more, and when Saka’s sharp movement – running off the back of a defender who had no idea where he’d gone – the pass inside from the Swedish international was perfect. There was still work to do, but Saka drilled it inside the near post to make it 2-0. A great finish to end a great move, Gyokeres returning the favour to Saka from the opener.

We almost fashioned a third when our defenders got in on the act, Calafiori’s overlap and subsequent pass saw Saliba clip a teasing ball to the back post but Gabriel just couldn’t get there. Then, with half-time looming, we were rewarded for keeping possession deep in our half before stretching the play somewhat riskily, but risk can often equal reward. Trossard took off down the left, took the ball on then dinked a cross which Gyokeres met with an excellent header that looped over Leno and under the crossbar for 3-0.

It was as complete a first half performance as you could want, especially with a Champions League semi-final on Tuesday. So, it was no surprise that Saka came off at the break, an excellent 45 minutes under his belt and no need to over-burden him. Noni Madueke came on, and while the second period wasn’t exactly a non-event, it was far less intense. Fulham had a bit more possession but not a lot more threat, and there was even scope for the manager to do something as radical as giving Declan Rice a bit of a rest. When’s the last time that happened?

It’s a bit strange to get to this point of the season and say we learned some things, but I think we did. Not that this is news to anyone, but I think Gyokeres benefits so much from having players with real technical quality outside him. Saka reminded us why he’s been so important, and I thought Trossard had a really good game on the left. Which isn’t to say Gyokeres’ performance was down to them, on his own merits he was very good yesterday, but so much of football is about balance and connections, and with those he put in potentially his most complete centre-forward performance since he arrived.

The other was the deployment of Lewis-Skelly in midfield. Beforehand, I was dubious we’d see that happen, simply because it had never happened before and the stakes were so high, but Arteta was rewarded for taking that risk with an outstanding display. Sky put up some stats not long before the final whistle, and they told a story:

Asked why this hasn’t happened before now in his post-game press conference, Arteta said:

Because probably I don’t have a clue and maybe I should have done it earlier, I don’t know! But I have to do things when I believe that the player is ready, the team is ready and the opponent is the right one to play with him in that position.

It was a big risk because I knew what was going to happen, if he wasn’t this great, we would have lost the game. How do you play a kid at this age, in this scenario, in a position that he hasn’t played all season? I knew that but I had the feeling that it was the right game for him.

I really think this is a fascinating development, and potentially a crucial one for Myles. After his breakthrough last season, I think the manager told him his future was really not at left-back when he brought in Piero Hincapie. That decision seriously curtailed the amount of football he played this season, and you can imagine – even at an early stage of his career – that’s been a frustration for him. Arteta admitted earlier in the press conference that he’d been ‘tough’ on him, so I don’t think this has been an easy season for him at all.

Perhaps I’m reading too much into one game and one performance, but if the left-back door was essentially closed over, maybe a new one opened yesterday. He’s still only 19 with loads to learn and plenty of time to develop, but there must be some real encouragement in the way he played yesterday, and the position he did it in. He came through the Academy as a central midfielder so it’s not as if it was completely out of his wheelhouse, but he’d never started there as a pro, and he acquitted himself brilliantly.

Myles and Ethan Nwaneri were held up last season as a shining light for Hale End and the players we produce, but I don’t think it’s unfair to suggest that there have been doubts over both of them because of how their second seasons have gone. I think it would be a real shame if we failed to unlock the potential of at least one of them going forward, and when he was given a chance yesterday, Lewis-Skelly took it with both hands, so let’s see where we go from here.

Overall then, just what the doctor ordered. As Atletico Madrid rested everyone and played the ham sandwich man yesterday, we produced a vital win coupled with a really encouraging performance. Hopefully it’s just the confidence boost we need going into Tuesday’s showdown, but more importantly it opened the gap at the top to 6 points. We have three to play, Man City have five, but at this point I’d rather have points on the board than games in hand.

Now we wait and see what happens on Monday night, but hopefully today we can all go and enjoy a nice relaxing Sunday having done our job so well yesterday. Have a good one folks, and don’t forget you can join us for an Arsecast Extra tomorrow as usual.

Until then.

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