Gabriel's late winner at Fulham bodes well for Arsenal
Arsenal were handed a reality check against Fulham but Gabriel Magalhes’ late winner at Craven Cottage bodes well for the Gunners… as Mikel Arteta hunts down a special campaign
- Gabriel Magalhaes’ late winner at Fulham marked four wins in four for Arsenal
- Mikel Arteta’s side are the only team in the league with a 100 per cent win record
- Escaping Craven Cottage with all three points will bode well for the Gunners
- Arsenal were not at their best but they showed a way to win important matches
Getting carried away is fun for Arsenal fans but the reality check that the Gunners got at Craven Cottage will serve them more effectively in the long run.
The fourth of four wins from four was the hardest-earned, sealed from a yard out by Gabriel Magalhaes with the league leaders’ 22nd and final shot of the day.
This was their first real test of a young season that may yet grow into something special. Arsenal’s first three wins passed by without challenge, but this was a warning that not every week will run as smoothly.
Gabriel Magalhaes scored late to hand Arsenal a fourth win in four against Fulham on Saturday
The first hurdle came in injuries to Oleksandr Zinchenko and Thomas Partey, crucial parts of Mikel Arteta’s 2-3-5 formation in possession which led to the first changes made to the Arsenal starting line-up this season.
Their replacements, Kieran Tierney and Mohamed Elneny, were rusty square pegs in round holes, with Tierney in particular struggling to adapt.
A lack of quality depth ultimately cost Arsenal a Champions League place last season, gambling in January by stripping their squad of any excess and coming up two points short.
William Saliba wheeled away in celebration after providing the assist for Gabriel’s winner
Arteta has spent £105million this summer to address that — even targeting Raphinha and Pedro Neto who play in the same positions as his star men Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.
With the addition of a Europa League campaign and the condensed schedule, Arsenal have 23 matches before the season pauses for the World Cup in late November. By the same stage last year, they had only played 15. Their intensity, particularly from their front three of Saka, Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus, is admirable, but must last the course.
Summer signing Oleksandr Zinchenko was ruled out through injury at Craven Cottage
The second hurdle was Fulham, unrecognisable from previous incarnations at this level and willing to scrap to maintain their own unbeaten start.
Marco Silva’s side have held Liverpool, were an Aleksandar Mitrovic penalty miss away from victory at Wolves and beat local rivals Brentford.
They almost claimed another scalp here, but Mitrovic’s 100th goal for Fulham, pouncing on Gabriel dawdling in possession, eventually counted for nothing.
Silva put that down to ‘two lucky Arsenal goals’ but in truth Fulham simply could not hold back a relentless tide of Arsenal attacks.
It was vindication of Arteta’s growth as a manager in his 100th Premier League game, finding the key to secure his 53rd win — only one behind Arsene Wenger at this stage.
The Spaniard has been accused of being too passive in impacting matches when needing a breakthrough — in their previous 17 Premier League games, Arsenal had won every time they had scored in the first half and lost every time they had not.
At 1-0 down with the tequila on ice, Arteta brought on Eddie Nketiah for Tierney, switched to three at the back and consigned that footnote to history.
Half of Arsenal’s shots came in the quarter of the game from Nketiah’s introduction to Gabriel’s winner, with the young English striker instrumental in harrying a tiring Fulham defence.
Mikel Arteta is the only Premier League boss with a 100 per cent win record so far this season
‘It’s a credit to the lads who came on to the pitch today,’ said goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale. ‘We changed formation and got the goals. Fulham made it really tough for us, they were frustrating us but in the end we got the goal.’
Also leading the way was captain Martin Odegaard, scorer of a deflected equaliser and whose artistry in possession dragged his team over the line when they needed inspiration most.
One lofted ball into the box for Nketiah took out all 10 of Fulham’s outfield players and Arteta’s decision to give the Norwegian the armband looks better by the week.
So do Arsenal’s chances of turning this promising start into something more. But let’s not get carried away.
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