Arsenal 3 Fulham 0: Gyokeres and Saka inspire rampant display to take leaders six points clear

Al Jazeera·May 2

Arsenal ease past Fulham to pull six points clear of Manchester City

Viktor Gyokeres scores twice in Arsenal’s 3-0 win against Fulham to boast hopes of ending 22-year title wait.Viktor Gyokeres and Bukayo Saka starred in Arsenal’s 3-0 win against Fulham on Saturday as the Premier League leaders moved a step closer to their first title in 22 years.Mikel Arteta’s side demolished woeful Fulham with a three-goal first-half blitz at the Emirates Stadium.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Ex-Formula One driver turned Paralympic champion Alex Zanardi dies aged 59list 2 of 4Saudi Arabia to end LIV Golf funding, while league appoints new chairmanlist 3 of 4Vonn not ’emotionally’ fit to decide if she’ll ski again after crashlist 4 of 4‘Win for Kenya’: Marathon record-breaker Sawe returns to hero’s welcomeend of listGyokeres put Arsenal ahead, and the Sweden striker netted again on the stroke of half-time after Saka had doubled their lead.The Gunners’ second successive league victory lifted them six points clear of second-placed Manchester City.Pep Guardiola’s men have two games in hand, with the first of those at Everton on Monday, but Arsenal’s dominant display has left City with no margin for error in a gripping title race.City can draw level on points with Arsenal if they win their games

The New York Times·May 3

Have Arsenal transformed the mood around their title run-in?

The thing that can be lost amid the tension of a title race is that the pressure comes in waves. It can ebb as well as flow.At times, it tightens so hard that, even watching as an outsider, it can feel suffocating. But then, almost without warning, it can give way, fleetingly, to the kind of blissful state that swept the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening.“What was that?” asked one Arsenal supporter, grinning from ear to ear as he made his way for half-time refreshments with his team 3-0 up and enjoying themselves against Fulham.That was a truly vibrant, dominant Arsenal performance. There haven’t been many of those this season or indeed since the back end of the 2023-24 campaign, when they won 16 of their final 18 Premier League games, playing the type of free-flowing football that arguably deserved to win the title — even if Manchester City’s football deserved it just that little bit more.The past two seasons have been a different matter: so many tight, attritional matches, such a struggle for Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka, between injury lay-offs, to recapture the creative spirit of those first two title challenges under Mikel Arteta. At times, Arsenal’s pursuit

The Guardian·May 3

Fit and firing Bukayo Saka injects fresh belief into Arsenal’s title challenge

There was one name on everyone’s lips at the Emirates on Saturday night. Robert Pires, who wore Arsenal’s No 7 shirt with such distinction for Arsène Wenger’s Invincibles, could not stop smiling as he made his way downstairs from the press box for some half-time refreshments. “Bukayo’s back,” said the former France forward.A frustrated spectator as he battled an achilles injury and his side’s quest for silverware spluttered, Arsenal’s talisman could not have picked a better moment to rediscover his golden touch on his first start since the Carabao Cup final six weeks ago. After leaving Raúl Jiménez on his backside to set up the first goal for Viktor Gyökeres, Saka settled everyone’s nerves with a brilliant second goal and also played his part in the third. The only disappointment was that the England winger didn’t emerge for the second half – a move that Mikel Arteta explained was precautionary ahead of the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Atlético Madrid on Tuesday evening. Arsenal might live to regret not piling on the goal difference given how tight things are at the top of the Premier League. But with Saka on song again, anything seems possible.In the depths

The Guardian·May 2

Arteta urges Arsenal to ‘use momentum’ from Fulham win in Atlético showdown

Mikel Arteta said his Arsenal team had played some of their best football of the season in Saturday’s 3-0 home win over Fulham and demanded that they take the positive feelings into the return leg of their Champions League semi-final against Atlético Madrid on Tuesday.Arsenal picked a fine time to recover their attacking flow, Viktor Gyökeres scoring either side of a Bukayo Saka goal to give them an unassailable half-time lead. The result took them six points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, albeit their rivals have two games in hand – the first of which is at Everton on Monday night.Arteta said he would watch that match as he finalised his preparations for Atlético’s visit to the Emirates Stadium; the first leg in Madrid last Wednesday finished 1-1. But he was less interested in what his team’s cruise against Fulham said to City and more about what it could do for his own players’ belief as they chase glory at home and in Europe.“It says to us and toward our dressing room that we keep the dream alive,” Arteta said. “That what these guys have done, not now, but throughout the season to win

The New York Times·May 2

Arsenal 3 Fulham 0: Gyokeres and Saka inspire rampant display to take leaders six points clear

Nerves, what nerves?Arsenal’s pursuit of the Premier League title has been hard going of late, with tension to the fore and goals hard to come by.But Mikel Arteta’s side blew Fulham away at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday with a scintillating first-half display — so good it brought the unusual sight of a standing ovation at the break — that laid the foundation for one of their most straightforward wins of the season.Perhaps significantly, it also gave their goal difference a potentially pivotal boost.Two goals from Viktor Gyokeres and one from Bukayo Saka secured the victory, with the second half a much more mundane affair.The result moves Arsenal six points (and four goals) better off than second-placed Manchester City. The leaders have three games to play, while Pep Guardiola’s side have five matches remaining.Oliver Kay and Art de Roche analyse the key talking points.In the heat of battle, was this actually… fun for Arsenal?Mikel Arteta had a relatively trouble-free 90 minutes on Saturday (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)After months of stressful and cagey matches, Arsenal finally looked like they were enjoying their football against Fulham.Whether it was Riccardo Calafiori popping up on the right wing, Saka putting opposition players on their backsides,