Arsenal's perfect record in away London derbies continued with a comfortable 3-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage. Mikel Arteta’s side barely got out of second gear as they strolled into a three goal lead against an underwhelming Fulham outfit who looked way off it.
Leandro Trossard bagged a hat-trick of assists as he stamped his influence on this Arsenal side, with Gabriel, Gabriel Martinelli and captain Martin Odegaard all getting on the scoresheet. It was a showing of utter dominance from the league leaders and they weren’t troubled in the slightest on a comfortable Sunday afternoon in they capital.
It’s something that the Gunners have become accustomed to this season. Their away record in London derbies in the Premier League this season now reads played five, won five, scored eleven, with zero goals conceded. 15 points out of a possible 15 on the road in London has helped Arsenal establish a five point lead at the top of the table, and they made it look so simple against Fulham, who look as if they may be running out of steam this term.
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There’s also the huge boost for Arsenal fans of the return of Gabriel Jesus, who could have scored off the bench as he returned to first team action for the first time since the World Cup. He could hand his side a major boost in the title race, which now looks like a two-horse race after Manchester United drew 0-0 at home to Southampton.
After all the emotion of the last minute win over Bournemouth, Arsenal needed a win like this. No nonsense, no fuss, just three more points. And from the first minute, it was clear Arsenal were in total control of this match. The hosts could barely get a touch on the ball and when Granit Xhaka played a wonderful ball into Martinelli, it looked like the Gunners had gone ahead.
He cut in from the left and fired a shot towards goal that Bernd Leno parried, and it was turned into his own net by Antonee Robinson - but Fulham were saved by VAR as the Brazilian had just strayed offside. Moments later they were ahead however, as Gabriel rose highest from a corner to head home from close range.
Arsenal were utterly dominant and deserved their second when it came. Xhaka broke and fed Leandro Trossard on the left wing, and he stood the perfect cross up to the back post for Martinelli to head home. Robinson’s defending was poor as he barely challenged the Arsenal man and allowed him to comfortably win the ball and place it past a helpless Leno.
Just seconds before the break, it was three. Troassard bagged his seventh assist of the season and his third of the match as he dinked another cross to the back post. This time Martin Odegaard was given the freedom of Craven Cottage as he took two touches before firing the ball into the bottom corner. 3-0 at half-time and the hosts hadn’t laid a glove on the league leaders.
Tosin saw his header come back off the crossbar as Fulham showed some signs of life in the second period, but still Arteta’s men were able to keep them at arm’s length. The biggest cheer of the second half came as Jesus was introduced, just as Arsenal needed a boost to carry them into the final stages of the season.
The star of the show on the pitch was Trossard, who has been the perfect January signing for Mikel Arteta’s men. Now with just 11 games to go, they have a chance to go eight points clear before Manchester City play again. We aren’t quite into the title run-in, but Arsenal's perfect London form is keeping them clear at the top.
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