Gabriel Martinelli stuns as Declan Rice stinks – Arsenal ratings in win v Fulham
Bukayo Saka’s goalscoring return was overshadowed by a troubling injury to Gabriel Magalhaes in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Fulham.
Having been in control of the opening quarter of an hour, Fulham countered quickly before Gabriel got across to dispossess Adama Traore.
However, the Brazilian defender was forced off after receiving medical treatment, with concerns that his season may have reached a premature end.
Mikel Merino opened the scoring in the 37th minute as his shot took a kind deflection off Jorge Cuenca to give the home side the lead.
Saka was introduced for his first appearance of the calendar year, and marked it was a goal on his return, thanks to some tidy play by Gabriel Martinelli.
Rodrigo Muniz, having spurned a golden opportunity minutes earlier, found the back of the net for Fulham, but the goal came too late to spark a comeback for the Whites.
Mikel Arteta troubled by injury to Gabriel in Arsenal win
David Raya – 6
Had little to do, largely due to the impotency of Fulham in-front of goal. Conceded late on after an unfortunate deflection off Saliba.
Jurrien Timber (off for Trossard 78′) – 7
Suffered an injury in the first-half, before succumbing in the second and being forced off, Arteta will be concerned given the good performance from the Dutch defender.
William Saliba – 7
Real Madrid are interested in signing Saliba, and the talented Frenchman put in a classically composed performance for the Gunners.
Gabriel suffers hamstring injury one week before Real Madrid match
Gabriel Magalhaes (off for Kiwior 16′) – 6
Gabriel’s season may be over, following a hamstring injury suffered in the first-half after chasing down Adama Traore as Fulham counterattacked. Concerningly, the injury occurred just a week before Arsenal are set to play Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Myles Lewis-Skelly – 7
Lewis-Skelly scored for England on his debut during the international break. The left-back continued his fine form with a good performance for the Gunners, nullifying the dangerous Traore.
Martin Odegaard – 7
The Arsenal captain hardly put a foot wrong for his side, but his passing lacked the cutting-edge that fans have become so used to seeing.
Thomas Partey – 6
Tidy performance from the Ghanaian in the centre of the park. Good distribution combined with his classically good tackling.
Declan Rice – 4
Booked for a silly foul on Issa Diop after he felt he had been fouled by the Frenchman, the England international failed to consistently win duels in the midfield and was fortunate most of his teammates were playing some of their best football. A rare stinker for the uber-consistent midfielder.
Ethan Nwaneri was on-form for Arsenal once again
Ethan Nwaneri (off for Saka 66′) – 8
Nwaneri has enjoyed a breakout season at the Emirates this year, in part due to the lack of cover behind Bukayo Saka, who has missed three months of football with a hamstring injury. Assisted Merino’s opener and was a menace for Antonee Robinson to deal with on the right-wing. No defender will enjoy playing against the nimble-footed wide man.
Mikel Merino – 8
Merino has been used as a makeshift striker due to injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus. The Spaniard found the back of the net once again, though a fortunate deflection off Jorge Cuenca was the biggest factor in Merino netting the opener for the Gunners.
Gabriel Martinelli – 9 – Player-of-the-Match
Probably the Brazilian’s best performance of the season. Unfortunate not to score late on as his goal was ruled out for an offside and will be overshadowed by Saka’s goal, but Arteta will be overjoyed to have seen the winger back to his best against Fulham.
Substitutes
Jakub Kiwior (on for Gabriel 16′) – 6
Good passing but was caught out of position several times, including for a golden opportunity for Muniz, who skewed his header wide.
Bukayo Saka (on for Nwaneri 66′) – 7
The star man returned with a bang, scoring following some delightful work from Martinelli. Seemed hesitant to really run at the Fulham defence, which is understandable given the nature of the muscular injury that has kept him out recently.
Leandro Trossard (on for Timber 78′) – 6
The game was petering out following his introduction until Fulham found a late goal. The Belgian had little impact on proceedings.