Fulham vs Arsenal live: Gunners regain place at top of Premier League with slender win
Fulham 0-1 Arsenal: Leandro Trossard’s strike proved the difference as Arsenal eked out victory at Craven Cottage
Arsenal eked out a slender yet crucial win over a resilient Fulham side to return to the top of the Premier League and put pressure on reigning champions Liverpool.
Bukayo Saka was the star of the show for the Gunners, with his corner leading to Leandro Trossard’s 58th-minute strike which proved the difference at Craven Cottage.
Fulham were a difficult team to break down for much of the contest, with Arsenal’s only joy in the first half proving short-lived as Riccardo Calafiori saw a stunning strike chalked off for offside.
Mikel Arteta’s side nevertheless found a way through and go three points clear at the top of the pile ahead of Liverpool’s mammoth clash with Manchester United tomorrow.
Follow all the reaction from Craven Cottage in our live blog below
Job done for Arsenal
Arsenal are back atop the Premier League, mounting extra pressure on Liverpool ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Manchester United.
As attention shifts to Anfield, why not read Richard Jolly’s preview of the mammoth match as he delves into the dilemma shared between Arne Slot and Ruben Amorim:
The shared Liverpool and Man United dilemma tied to Slot and Amorim’s futures
How Ange Postecoglou surpassed Liz Truss in 39-day Nottingham Forest disaster
The term hubris emerged in Greece and there was some distinctly hubristic about it, even if it was less Greek tragedy than a farce that stemmed from a pair of men born in Greece and briefly paired in Nottingham.
Perhaps Ange Postecoglou’s heritage was a factor in his appointment at Nottingham Forest. Many another realised immediately it was a stylistic mismatch between manager and squad. Evangelos Marinakis, whose choice of Nuno Espirito Santo as Forest’s previous manager met with a distinctly mixed reception but proved inspired, parachuted in a compatriot of sorts after one of the strangest sackings and then, 39 days later, delivered one that was both among the most predictable and brutal.
Postecoglou lasted a mere 39 days at Forest. It was the shortest ever reign of any supposedly permanent manager in the Premier League; some caretakers have lasted longer. His tenure was shorter than Forest’s iconic manager Brian Clough’s infamously brief spell at Leeds in 1974; shorter, indeed, than the time Liz Truss spent as Prime Minister, when she was outlasted by a lettuce. Next summer’s World Cup will be longer than the Postecoglou era, if such a word can be deployed. Clough’s 6,700-day spell at Forest was more than 171 times longer than the Postecoglou age, if such a term can be used.
Richard Jolly’s analysis on Ange Postecoglou’s sacking:
How Ange Postecoglou surpassed Liz Truss in 39-day Nottingham Forest disaster
Report: Arsenal move clear at top of Premier League with tight victory at Fulham
Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to three points after Leandro Trossard’s second-half goal fired Mikel Arteta’s side to a 1-0 victory at Fulham.
Trossard scored from a corner shortly before the hour mark at Craven Cottage before Arsenal were denied the chance to double their advantage when a penalty won by Bukayo Saka was overturned by VAR.
However, despite the contentious decision, the North Londoners were able to see out the slender victory to move clear of second-placed Manchester City.
Full report from Craven Cottage:
Arsenal move clear at top of Premier League with tight victory at Fulham
Bukayo Saka's penalty: yay or nay?
Bukayo Saka contentiously saw his penalty overturned after it was deemed Kevin got the ball with his lunging challenge.
"For me, it is a penalty,” Saka said. “Of course I understand he touched the ball, but I feel a big contact on my right knee before he touched the ball. The decision has been made so I don't want to dwell on it."
Mikel Arteta wasn’t so sure.
"Is it clear and obvious if it takes that long?” he said. “I have just been told it wasn't a penalty, so they made the right call. I was surprised with how long the process took."
Sander Berge laments Arsenal pressure
"Tough to lose like that,” he told Sky Sports. “I think we had momentum at times today - we were at it. Arsenal are a great team. They have shown that in the last couple of years and have probably got better.
"The pressure was too much and they got their goal. I think we didn't have the edge there to create what was needed. We have to move on and keep working.
"They're extremely good on their set-pieces we prepared well, but in the end we didn't manage to keep the goal out. We came out at half-time too deep. It is difficult to keep the clean sheet.
"We have been on an unfortunate run with injuries and have some key players out. I think everyone showed the strength of the squad today, even when we miss that many players we're still competitive and we can do a lot of damage to anyone in the Premier League."
Bukayo Saka on Arsenal's 'high standards'
"This season we beat Newcastle who we struggled against away in the past, so it is points that in recent seasons we haven't been picking up, so we are happy with this result,” Saka told Sky Sports.
"It was a tough start to the game but in my mind I want to get the ball and make things happen. I think had a good performance which I am happy with.
On set-pieces, he added: "It is quite clear we are quite good at it. We have high standards for ourselves."
Mikel Arteta pleased with performance
"Very good, it is a really tough place to come,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “We have experienced that in the last few years. We put a lot into it - we had some giveaways in the first half, but we became more dominant throughout the game.
"The simplicity in certain aspects with the ball. We had to change the structure as well to facilitate as well that gave us fluidity. They have been together for many years, so they know how to adapt.
"It is very early in the season, but it is great [for Leandro Trossard] to be scoring in the goals. Another clean sheet which is good to see, so I am very happy."
Marco Silva: 'Gabriel is impossible to stop'
"When you lose a game, it is always a disappointing one,” Silva told BBC Sport. “They were at a very good level. We did create chances to score before Arsenal. They were more on that than on ourselves.
“We knew it was not going to be easy, a tough team to play against but I think we kept them away from big chances in the game. After the goal, we did react and started to play more in our way again.
"Gabriel jumps so high, it's impossible to stop him. It's very difficult to control. The way we tried to block his run, most of the game, we did it very well. We were too open and left the path for Gabriel. We didn't want him to run in that part. Any flick is very difficult to control at the back post."
Leandro Trossard speaks on Arsenal's win
"Very pleased with that,” he said. “It was a tough game for us, especially first half the quality on our side wasn't there. We picked it up in the second half. We created some more chances and we're really happy with the win.
“[Set pieces] change every game. We know the opponent tries to adapt to us, so we have to adapt as well."
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