Three more points in the bag, and suddenly a three-point lead at the top of the table following Sunday's results. Highly encouraging; without getting carrried away, of course, because there's a long way to go - and there's plenty of room for improvement.
But before I get into it, a little bit of housekeeping. I have made a few design updates to this page. A change of font; plus whilst you probably cannot see it if you're looking on your phone or mobile device you will definitely see on your laptop or desktop a change of background image. Anyway, that's neither here nor there - I just fancied a change.
And so to Saturday evening's match, for which - with the players having returned from international duty with a pretty clean bill of health (no extra injuries to report) - meant that Arteta could go with the line-up we will have all predicted. With Odegaard out, Zubimendi returned to the starting line-up, and Eze dropped in to the right 8/10 role. He's probably better operating from the left, in my opinion, but there's a log jam on that side. And the regrettable knock-on effect for Ethan Nwaneri is a reduction in minutes.
Arsenal have found Fulham to be tricky opponents over the past couple of seasons, so this was never likely to be a swashbuckling performance. Fulham themselves were suffering injury woes, and their fans would probably cite a recent lack of squad-building ambition from the owner too. But they have different expectations, and a different model, to Arsenal. So whilst the away team were firm favourites, victory was always likely to have to be earned.
This is one of those away games that one can group alongside the likes of Crystal Palace, Brentford and Bournemouth as 'tricky but winnable'. But with due respect needing to be given to the opponent. And a combination of that and something of a post-break hangover meant a slow - even sloppy - start, with Fulham having much the best of the opening half hour. They forced a series of early corners, with Wilson looking troublesome, and following one such corner Cairney's volley was blocked by Zubimendi's bread basket. They weren't overly threatening the Arsenal goal, however, and Raya was rarely bothered, but the away side certainly needed to wake their ideas up following such a sluggish start.
Which, to be fair, they did eventually do. On 15 minutes, a long diagonal from Timber picked out Trossard, whose first time flick infield found no other than Riccardo Calafiori (playing in his customary centre forward role...). The Italian swept a first time half-volley into the far corner of Leno's net, only to be pulled back as he was half a yard offside. What a goal that would have been had it have stood.
I have no idea what Arteta's instructions to Ricci are, but he appears to have carte blanche going forward; to create overloads when he can - all secure in the knowledge that somebody else will be covering for him further back. Honestly; we all thought that MLS had elevated the left back position, but we can now see why Arteta spent so much money on the Italian. He's quite unique.
Truth be told, that was by far Arsenal's most dangerous moment of the entire first half hour, as the field tilt remained very much in the home side's favour. It took until just after the half hour mark for Arsenal to finally get a grip and begin to dominate. By which time Andersen had limped off, and both Cairney and King were suffering from knocks. And after which, frankly, there was only going to be one winner. But 0-0 at half time; and Arsenal continued to apply the squeeze.
Look, there's something quite unlikeable sometimes about Arteta's methods, as he looks to strangle the opposition to death. Of course, it's difficult to expect to see free-flowing football when the opposition compresses itself in its own half. But I'd really like to see a little bit more risk-taking; trying to work the ball between the lines, move it around more quickly, and try catch the opposition out instead of all that umbrella passing and patiently moving them around. With a defence as good as Arsenal's, I don't see why the Manager doesn't allow his players to take the handbrake off a bit more. There's a certain predictability about the way they play. On the other hand, it's a results-driven business (just ask Big Ange!) and this approach has taken Arsenal to the summit. So please don't register this as a complaint or anything...
In Bukayo Saka, however, we have an absolutely outstanding talent. a game changer; no matter what the game is. He took a while in this one to get the measure of Sessegnon, and in truth also to get his set piece delivery up to his normal standards, but he had a superb second half and could have scored or assisted three or four goals by the end of the game.
It was only a matter of time, I guess, before Arsenal got their noses in front. 58 minutes, in fact. And once more it was Set Piece FC (tongue firmly in cheek) that did the trick. Saka's delivery - right on the mark this time - was nodded on by Gabriel for an unmarked Trossard to stab home with his knee from close range.
Now here's the thing. Firstly Arsenal don't get to take as many corners as they do without doing a lot of attacking, and dominating the oppostion. So I'm not having any of that Set Piece FC nonsense; they don't magic the dead ball situations - they work hard, and the set pieces are the result of that. Secondly, that they happen to be better than everybody else at them is down to coaching, to high levels of skill, and to desire. As was personified by Gabriel at that moment. Starting his run from the penalty spot, and with two men between him and the goal, he bulldozed his way past both and made the cross his own. The rest was partly down to luck; but also to the confusion that these set pieces confer upon the oppostion. One lapse of judgment and you're dead. As it was here. Set Piece again Olé Olé!
Just a few minutes later, Anthony Taylor was pointing to the spot as substitute Kevin was deemed to have brought down Starboy. Funnily enough, I thought at the time that it was somewhere between soft and not a foul at all, and the VAR duly intervened to send Taylor to the booth. But here's the thing; the more I watched it, the more convinced I was that Taylor's initial call had been correct, as it looked clear to me that there had been knee to knee contact just prior to the Fulham player getting a slight touch on the ball. And I - along with Saka himself - was therefore flabbergasted when the referee changed his mind.
As with the Newcastle débacle, there was the question of 'clear and obvious error' and of the VAR re-refereeing the incident. And that's twice in successive away league games that we've had a spot kick award overturned. Thankfully, controversy was once more averted by Arsenal going on to take all the points despite the erroneous call.
From there on in, there was frankly little to report. Fulham did huff and puff a bit, but it takes a lot more than that to get the better of Gabriel and the majestic Saliba. Despite Jimenez's previous record as something of a bogey player over the years up against the Arsenal defenders, he's no Erling Haaland, and Raya was barely troubled. Indeed, the stats reveal that this made successive matches that the opposition had failed to register a shot on target. The last time that happened? - 2003-04, when Arsenal last won the title...
The following infograms tell quite a story (and yes, it's early days; but):
Arsenal are 7 points ahead of their points tally from the 7 comparable matches they have played this season compared to last.
In 8 matches! Literally, no further comment required...
Before I finish, a word on Big Vik. This was a typical sort of game for the Swede (who, by the way, was part of the two-man Swedish attack - alongside no other than Alexander Isak - who failed to score in two highly winnable World Cup qualifiers last week). A game of unselfish runs into channels. Of few touches. But of several shots from difficult angles. And of balls not quite falling at his feet in the penalty area. Yet doing a vital job for the team as he pulled defenders here, there and everywhere. I am confident that the dam will burst. And, when it does, the league had better watch out!
And so we move on to two home games this week. A really tricky tie with Athletico Madrid (the Andrea Berta Derby) on Tuesday, and then reunions for Eze and Nketiah when Palace cross the river on Sunday. It's debatable which game is more important! Just keep going, lads. Keep laying the foundations.
With Liverpool (and Tottenham) both losing, Sunday has been a very good day. The former are clearly out of sorts, and may take a while to click into any sort of gear as they adjust to the loss of Trent, Diaz and the late lamented Diogo Jota. With Slot being forced to play Konate and VVD in every game, things don't look that rosy for them. As for second placed Manchester City... well, they're being powered by the turbo-charged Haaland, but surely not even he can do everything himself. And, frankly, I'm not worried about anyone else.
At this moment, Arsenal have the best team, and the best squad. It's all there for them. So COYG!
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