With eyes inevitably drifting towards next week’s visit of Real Madrid to north London, Arsenal welcome Fulham to the Emirates Stadium. More importantly, they also welcome back Bukayo Saka, the star forward whose hamstring tear in late December was the death knell for the Gunners’ title challenge.
Since then, with Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus all missing extended periods, the Arsenal attack has gone rather cold, with a relatively underwhelming 19 goals in 12 Premier League games without Saka. The last four in particular have brought just two. Arsenal need something to fire their attack again.
Meanwhile there is plenty to play for at Fulham too. Back-to-back league wins prior to their FA Cup exit at Crystal Palace’s hands had Marco Silva’s side up to eighth. A win on Tuesday could propel them as high as sixth (a gap of 10 goals surely means Manchester City in fifth are beyond them for the time being). The Cottagers have never won in their 31 league visits to Arsenal, but then again they have been a particularly tough nut for Mikel Arteta to crack of late, picking up five points from their last three meetings.
Viewing information
- Date: Tuesday, April 1 | Time: 2:45 p.m. ET
- Location: Emirates Stadium — London
- Live stream: Peacock
- Odds: Arsenal -250; Draw +333; Fulham +750
Last meeting
It was another trying trip for Arsenal when they went to Craven Cottage in December. Fresh from an impressive win over Manchester United four days earlier, the Gunners kept hammering at the door after Raul Jimenez’s opener, one of only two shots the hosts would take across the entire game. Arsenal took 12, amassing over two expected goals as Kai Havertz drew them level early in the second half, but were left pondering what if when Bukayo Saka’s last minute winner was ruled out for a fractional offside by Gabriel Martinelli.
What Arsenal are saying
“Bukayo is ready to go,” said Arteta when asked about Saka’s return to training last week. “All the careful things he’s already done. So now it’s about putting him in the grass in the right moments. But he’s pushing because he really wants it. We have respected the timeframe, we have done everything and we have had to hold him back even. So he’s ready to go.
“It’s another massive weapon that we have with him. We know the impact that he’s had on the team and how important his role and his contribution are to our success. So it’s great to have him back.”
Predicted lineups
Arsenal: David Raya; Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel, Myles Lewis-Skelly; Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey, Declan Rice; Gabriel Martinelli, Mikel Merino, Leandro Trossard
Fulham: Bernd Leno; Timothy Castagne, Joachim Andersen, Calvin Bassey, Antonee Robinson; Sasa Lukic, Sander Berge; Alex Iwobi, Andreas Pereira, Willian; Raul Jimenez
Storylines to watch
Champions League looms large — Arteta will doubtless claim otherwise but with second looking to be the summit and limit of Arsenal’s Premier League ambitions, it would be mad if he were not considering how to line his side up for next week’s visit of Real Madrid. That potentially means holding Saka back from the number of minutes he might like — what value would there be in gambling on his fitness on Tuesday — giving Ben White an extended run out at right back or testing out a different center forward to Mikel Merino.
Player to watch
Bukayo Saka — How could it be anyone else? When the England international went down just before Christmas he looked like one of the best players in the world, the sort who might be able to swing a Champions League quarterfinal Arsenal’s way. He still sits second on the Premier League assist chart and third in big chances created. If he is anything like the player he was before a major injury and surgery, Arsenal’s ceiling is dramatically raised.
Prediction
Expect Arsenal to take their time in getting going but ultimately get the job done, perhaps with aid from a bench that looks stronger with Ethan Nwaneri, Raheem Sterling and potentially Saka on it. PICK: Arsenal 2, Fulham 1
Read the full article here
