Viktor Gyokeres netted twice while Bukayo Saka also found the scoresheet as Arsenal moved six points clear at the top of the Premier League with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Fulham.
The Gunners showed no signs of title pressure, striking all three goals in a dominant first half, which allowed Mikel Arteta to rotate key players after the break.
Arsenal took the lead just nine minutes in, with Saka – making his first start since the EFL Cup final – beating Raul Jimenez before setting up Gyokeres for a simple finish.
They remained in full control and should have doubled their advantage in the 27th minute, but Bernd Leno produced a sharp save to deny Gyokeres, while Saka sent the rebound wide.
Riccardo Calafiori had a powerful header from Leandro Trossard’s cross ruled out for offside after a VAR check, but Arsenal did make it 2-0 in the 40th minute when Saka fired past Leno at the near post following strong hold-up play from Gyokeres.
Gyokeres then grabbed his second four minutes into first-half stoppage time, guiding Trossard’s looping cross beyond Leno.
Arteta substituted Saka at half-time and later withdrew Gyokeres and Declan Rice shortly after the hour, though Arsenal nearly added a fourth when Calafiori’s header was tipped onto the crossbar by Leno.
The win puts Arsenal six points ahead of Manchester City, who have two games in hand and face Everton on Monday, while Fulham sit 10th, three points outside the top six.
Data Debrief: Gunners finally fire on all cylinders
Arsenal had appeared tense in recent matches, including a 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth and a narrow 1-0 win over Newcastle United, but this performance was far more convincing.
By half-time, they had generated 2.39 non-penalty expected goals (xG) – the third-highest first-half total by any side in a Premier League game this season, behind Bournemouth vs Chelsea (2.77) and Manchester City vs Leeds United (2.67).
Overall, Arsenal recorded 18 shots and 2.97 xG, compared to Fulham’s 0.43 xG from 10 attempts.
Gyokeres and Saka led the charge, with the Swede contributing to three goals in a Premier League match (two goals, one assist) for the very first time.
Gyokeres now has 21 goals across all competitions this season, becoming the first Arsenal player to score 20 or more in his debut campaign since Alexis Sanchez in 2014–15 (25).
Meanwhile, Saka reached 150 goal involvements for Arsenal in all competitions (80 goals, 70 assists), and Gyokeres is the 18th different player the England international has assisted in the Premier League.
