Following Mikel Arteta’s press conference on Tuesday, TV and radio reports and smiley Instagram posts, the big question leading up to the game was would a fit again Bukayo Saka start or would he come off the bench for guesses ranging anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes.
In the event, the starting lineup was –
Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Ødegaard, Partey, Rice; Nwaneri, Merino, Martinelli
There was also a lot of discussion on TV and radio before the game about whether Arteta’s job was under pressure because Arsenal are not going to win the league this season. Really? After the move to the Emirates, Arsene Wenger used to be criticised for treating “fourth place like a trophy”, even though any other team that managed to break into that top four – yes, even in fourth place – was lauded like world beaters. Arteta has arguably done better than late era Wenger in that he has now come second for two consecutive seasons, with a third in prospect. He has missed out on the title by the narrowest of margins to a state funded team that has accumulated between 115 and 130 charges of financial fraud and non compliance with league regulations.
And some people think that is failure worthy of the sack. Please go and infect some other poor club with your pathetic entitlement. For a bit of context, and on the point of return from his first serious injury, I thought I’d take a look back at the team Bukayo Saka played in for Arteta’s first Arsenal game – vs Bournemouth on 26th December 2019. Saka, incidentally, is the sole survivor of that entire match squad –
Leno; Maitland-Niles, David Luiz, Papastathopoulos, Saka; Torreira, Xhaka, Nelson, Ozil; Lacazette, Aubameyang
Whilst achieving all those second place finishes, that shows the scale of the dismantling and rebuilding work that has had to be done. There was one further glance backwards before the game began – to a picture on the giant screens of David Rocastle, who sadly passed away, 24 years ago, in this week of 2021. Never forgotten.
First half
The game kicked off with Fulham lining up in a stubborn looking 5-4-1, with Emile Smith-Rowe returned to the starting lineup after being left out of their 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday. Both sides kept the ball quite well in the early stages without really threatening, apart from when Martinelli cut a ball back to Partey who scuffed his shot wide.
On unlucky-for-some 13 minutes, Gabriel pulled up while running and hobbled badly on one leg until being replaced by Kiwior. Another hamstring injury appeared the most likely cause – just what we needed with Real Madrid due in town in seven days time. Another scare followed just before the half hour when Jurrien Timber was down, but thankfully not out, after appearing to fall on an awkwardly shaped knee. He got up to carry on though and seemed to be fine.
Martinelli continued to skin Castsgne on the Fulham left and crossed for Nwaneri who showed great control to fire a shot at goal which Leno could only parry away for his defence to clear.
Arsenal were playing sideways and backwards to try to tempt Fulham out of their low block until, finally, on 37 minutes Partey played one of those lovely vertical passes to Timber who nudged it on for Nwaneri to cross to super striker Mikel Merino who poked a deflected shot past Leno at the far post.
Arsenal 1 – 0 Fulham
Fulham’s immediate reaction to the goal was to bring down every Arsenal player anywhere near the ball but Mr Brooks, the referee, didn’t seem to mind. Arsenal continued to play safety first for the remainder of the half. It wasn’t tremendously exciting but the lack of movement a natural striker would give makes it hard to create those openings up front. That is not to criticise Merino who has done his best in an unaccustomed position and has now notched 6 times this season.
Trying to break a low block is also hard when we play so much through the middle. Martinelli had a great game going both inside and round the outside but Nwaneri and Ødegaard both look first to funnel the play into the crowded central areas where space is almost impossible to find.
Second half
After Ødegaard shot over from a Martinelli cross Fulham, showing more enterprise, broke down our right and had a shot well saved by Raya before Partey stepped in smartly to clear the rebound just ahead of Smith-Rowe.
Both teams had stepped up the pace and the game began to open up. Timber took a return pass from Ødegaard and winded and flattened Leno with a fierce shot from the edge of the six yard box. It then took a pull, push, trip and finally a body check to stop MLS before Saliba headed over the resulting free kick swung in by Ødegaard. We then had a quick series of corners where Martinelli had a header saved and made Castagne’s day by nutmegging him to win another corner.
And then, on 65 minutes, it happened. Bukayo Saka ran onto the Emirates pitch once more, in place of Ethan Nwaneri. Arsenal were also involved in Fulham’s substitution as Alex Iwobi replaced Smith-Rowe. After 7 whole minutes on the grass, Bukayo Saka scored. Martinelli took a return pass from Merino and flicked the ball on to Saka to nod past Leno before running to the bench to hug his fitness trainer, Sam Wilson.
Arsenal 2 – 0 Fulham
There was a further worry as Timber was forced off with another problem with quarter of an hour to go. Pressing for a third goal we left acres of space on our left side which Sessegnon attacked and squared for Muniz to slot a late consolation.
Arsenal 2 – 1 Fulham
A tense finish could have been a lot worse if Muniz hadn’t earlier made a terrible mess of a header from 1 yard out after great work by Iwobi. Mr Brooks blew for time after 6 added minutes. Job done.
Thoughts
A fairly sterile first half preceded a much better second. If Martinelli was trying to impress the new, watching Sporting Director, Andrea Berta, he made an extremely good job of it and was unlucky to be denied a goal in added time when a very nice finish was disallowed as he had strayed just offside.
Three points safely in the bag, albeit after an unnecessarily edgy finale. The worries must be in defence with Gabriel and Timber forced off and no Ben White in the squad with a Champions League 1/4 Final tie next Tuesday.
Big plus of the night though – obviously a smiling Bukayo Saka back playing and scoring. It makes you wonder what the true size of the Arsenal fan base is when you consider that that smiling thumbs up photo on Instagram last week drew 500,000 Likes!
We saw the same game, Trev. You must have found a stream!
More injuries. Who’da thunk it?
Thanks for that fine report, Trev. No more injuries please
Cheers Trev. Perfect match summary. The ‘perfect’ being only qualifying the summary there.
After a decimated attack,we may be back to a depleted defence.
Not unlike when beating Real in 2006?
We shall see.
Excellent report, Trev. That’s the game I saw. Lots of new faces in the crowd yesterday as for some reason there were loads of tickets put on the exchange. No udea why but it gave a lot of people the opportunity to attend.
Very well described Trev, an excellent report in quick time.
I catch the lift up nowadays and pre-match there was speculation about when Saka woukd come on ‘ Probably when we are chasing the game ‘ said one, and another said ‘ that’s after about two minutes’ – I’m afraid I pointed out quite forcibly we were second in the league and last 8 of the Champions League- but Arteta is under pressure because of all the money he has spent although he hasn’t spent enough because he hasn’t bought a striker. A lot of Arsenal fans make me sick with their sense of entitlement. There were big gaps in the crowd yesterday .
I thought the refereee was the best English ref we had seen for a long while- not perfect but sensible and consistent .
As for the game Merino , Martinelli and Partey were excellent, Odegaard was still way off his best and Kiwior is very weak. Watch his positioning for the Muniz sitter that he missed. He has no pace and must not play against Mbappe . Lovely to see Bukayo back
A perfect summary of the game, Trev. An extremely frustrating first half with Ødegaard in particular failing to find his passing range despite the usual hustle and bustle and Gabriel pulling up with a hamstring injury that almost certainly sees him miss the rest of the season and certainly the Madrid games. Merino’s goal was both a relief and a surprise. I fully expected him to make the usual square pass to a teammate when confronted with three defenders in the box but he clearly saw a chink and took the shot and, hey presto it was deflected into the goal. Perhaps we should shoot more often? The delight of the night was not just seeing the return of BS7 but his delightful goal. Of such things are fairy tales made.
Thanks for the quick report Trev. Can’t have been easy on a stream. A few remarks.
So good to see Martinelli back to his urgent best. He was brilliant all night and, for me, comfortably man of the match. Driving at people, great skills and end product.
Merino has now scored 6 goals in 8 games since moving to centre forward. We could not have asked more of him.
The Starboy returns. One of those “you had to be there” moments, like Henry’s second coming against Leeds that make it so worth coming to these midweek games and getting home at midnight. So glad to see him back. It was noticeable how much better Odegaard looked once he came on. Now here’s a conundrum: how do we fit Saka and Nwaneri into the same team? Ethan was excellent in the 65 minutes he played.
Defensive worries again. Kiwior was poor when he replaced big Gabby, running away from attackers instead of getting touch tight. And when Partey replaced Timber at right back, our right side became an open book for Fulham, especially the excellent Iwobi. I was baffled why he didn’t start.
But a game of delights and worries. We will surely have a patched up defence against Real Madrid. Well it worked in 2006.
Oh and my favourite chant from the North Bank on the night
“Arsenal B team, whoah
Arsenal B team!”
I switched on to watch our game only to find that Manure’s visit to Forest had taken precedence over the “Return of Saka” spectacular being promised in North London. I’m therefore grateful for your detailed description and viewpoints on the match, Trev. It reads very much like the game I listed to on A.com. Delighted for Bukayo. Devastated for Gabi and the impact on our ability to keep clean sheets in the Madrid games.
Those doubting Arteta should rest their brain cell. Overheating it doesn’t have a good outcome.
I’d like to see Martinelli play like I heard him play last night in every game.
Many thanks for your match report Trev – I was at a trustees meeting so unable to catch anything in real time. Positives were the 3 points, Bakayo back and Gabi Martinelli’s form
( let’s hope he has re-found his mojo ). The continuing injuries are a major frustration- let’s hope they are not as bad as feared.
C100@7: That is a sharp observation about Ødegaard perking up once Saka came one. Our Starboy sprinkles his magic around.
That’s a great photo of Saka. Well done!
Thanks Trev!
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/apr/03/oxlade-chamberlain-bucks-trend-and-enjoys-besiktas-boost-under-solskjr
The Ox is on the up again it seems, hope it goes well though
I had never imagined him as a DM
Thanks all, and hope you’ve now finally seen and enjoyed that photo of a very happy Saka.
Gabriel and Timber were due to be assessed yesterday, so a nervous wait for some good news which is, for us this season, rarer than rocking horse droppings.
Continuing the theme I started in the report, I honestly think that with the injuries we’ve had, and the fact we are still second in the league and in the 1/4 final of the Champions League, Mikel Arteta should get the Manager of The Season award. He won’t, of course, it will go to Arne Slot. He has done a great job to transition so seamlessly from Klopp, but boy has he had some luck. I would go as far as to say he hasn’t had to do a great job, he has just had to make sure he didn’t muck it up.
It might go to Nuno, to be fair, Trev @ 14. And I don’t think that would be undeserved.
Manager of the Season should probably go to ‘Pool’s fitness coach.
It never rains but it pours. Big Gabbi out for the rest of the season.
https://www.arsenal.com/news/injury-update-gabriel-magalhaes
In White, Timber, Gabriel and Calafiori, the sick room at Colney could put out a better back four than many PL teams.
Better than most or practically all even, I’d say, Ned.
I’m with Ollie @19, 100%.
It’s a real shame for big Gabriel but in adversity we become even stronger. I’m really looking forward to how Arteta deals with the defence and how they respond to him. It’s fantastic that we are second in the league after everything that has been thrown are way. Let’s take it to Everton and Real Madrid. Let’s get behind Raya, MLS, Kiwior, Partey and hopefully Timber.
WE CAN DO THIS! UP THE GUNNERS!
SP @21 – have I missed something or have you forgotten Saliba ?
Yes sorry he’s having a few games off and who can begrudge him that.
Trev – three hamstring surgeries and a hamstring injury to Martinelli in one season. This seems to me to be a training/fitness issue at Arsenal. Any thoughts?
I’m sure you all know, but if Spurs fail to win tonight against Chelsea, the glorious celebration of St Totteringham will be with us.
ecg@24: As per the BBC, Gabriel’s is the 119th hamstring injury in the Premier League so far this season, an average of four injuries to the muscle each round of games.
So, 1. it is not only an Arsenal problem, and 2. we are doing better than average.
I wish you all a happy St Totteringham’s day
It’s happened again!
Ned@26: I guess I should phrased my comment differently. I recognize that hamstring injuries are common in football (I injury my hamstring just watching Arsenal), but I think most heal without surgery. I could be wrong but three surgeries on one team in one season seems unusual.
Happy St Totteringham’s Day!
I believe that Timber and White will be fit to play Madrid . Any team would miss Gabriel but we can put out a very strong side next week. We could also use Tierney as a LCB if we needed to . Everton will be a tough game particularly if Tarkowski is playing but we could leave Kiwior in and play Tierney at LB and possibly put Benny Blanco at CB .
I have a strong feeling Merino will do very well against Madrid especially at home.I like Sancho’s optimism .
Our neighbours were dreadful at the Bus Stop 🚏
Happy St. Totts Day.
It has come round so quickly!
And so it is official: Happy St Totts’ day.
ecg @28 – Ned’s figures are interesting but I think your perception is right that we do seem to have a lot of players needing surgery – here’s a few thoughts that might help ….
The general rule for surgery with hamstrings is 2 of the three tendons torn with >2cm retraction from the bone with avulsion fractures, or belly of the muscle from the tendon – or all 3 tendons torn.
Conservative treatment used to be the norm for grade 1 or 2 tears; grade 3 as above; grade 4 (complete ruptures to all 3 muscles) surgery.
It has been found though that surgery for tears involving the tendons (avulsion or not) can reduce long term inflammation and prevent recurrence with a higher percentage of athletes returning to pre-tear levels of performance.
We obviously have no idea exactly what Gabriel has suffered but you could make a guess within range from that info.
And yes, Happy St Tott’s day everyone.
As TTG said, Tottenham were absolutely dire against Chelsea who, in all honesty, weren’t that much better.
If Kiwior takes Gabriel’s place for our upcoming games I hope the crowd get right behind him and encourage the guy through everything he does. He’s not as good as Gabriel and he’ll be well aware of that too. It would be unnatural for him not to be a bit apprehensive with Madrid coming up but he’ll be doing his best so cheer him on – especially if he makes a mistake.
>>>>>>>