Mikel’s men on end of a useful reality check
GETTING carried away is fun for Arsenal fans but the reality check the Gunners got here 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. 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 from the overlapping wing-back role he usually fills to tucking inside as Zinchenko has done so well. 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. 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 — in pursuit of greater substance below the surface. 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 be managed to last the course. Part of that is rotation, and those on the bench now will need to be more immediately ready to contribute when called upon. 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 league games, Arsenal had won every time they’d scored in the first half and lost every time they hadn’t. At 1-0 down, 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 harrying a tiring Fulham defence. ‘It’s a credit to the lads who came on today,’ said keeper Aaron Ramsdale. ‘They made the difference. We changed formation and got the goals.’ 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.
ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale 7; White 6, Saliba 6, Gabriel 6, Tierney 5 (Nketiah 61); Elneny 6, Xhaka 7; Saka 7, Odegaard 8 (Holding 90), Martinelli 7; Jesus 6 (Tomiyasu 89). Subs not used: Smith-Rowe, Cedric Soares, Vieira, Lokonga, Marquinhos, Turner. Booked: White, Jesus. FULHAM (4-4-1-1): Leno 7; Tete 6 (Mbabu 79), Adarabioyo 7, Ream 7 (Stansfield 88), Robinson 7; DeCordova-Reid 6, Reed 6, Palhinha 7 (Chalobah 88), Kebano 6 (Cairney 68); Pereira 6 (Diop 79); Mitrovic 7. Subs not used: Rodak, Duffy, Francois, Harris. Booked: Palhinha, Robinson, DeCordova-Reid, Silva. Referee: Jarred Gillett. Attendance: 60,164.