Bukayo Saka marked his return from injury with a goal to help Arsenal to a 2-1 win over Fulham on Tuesday night at the Emirates Stadium.
The English winger scored just seven minutes into his return after missing 101 days of action.
It was not all a smooth sailing evening for Arsenal as Gabriel Malgahaes suffered a hamstring injury in the 16th minute before he was replaced by Jakub Kiwior.
The injury is a major concern for Arsenal with a clash against Real Madrid in the Champions League coming up next Tuesday.
Mikel Arteta confirmed at the post-match conference that Gabriel felt discomfort in his hamstring.
Arteta: “Gabriel felt something in his hamstring, we don’t know how big that is.
“Jurrien Timber was already struggling early. He couldn’t continue… we will now assess both players tomorrow”.
Mikel Merino broke the deadlock with a deflected effort in the 37th minute as Fulham sat deep all through the match.
Bukayo Saka replaced Ethan Nwaneri in the 66th minute before scoring with a close range header seven minutes later from a Martinelli cross to make it 2-0.
Fulham were handed a late lifeline when Rodrigo Muniz reduced the deficit in the 90th minute but it was too little too late as Arsenal held on for a vital victory to reduce Liverpool’s lead to nine points ahead of their game against Everton on Wednesday.
Arteta was delighted for Saka, who marked his return with a goal, and opened up on his celebration with the coaching staff.
He said: “When you have the opportunity to see how much people appreciate you – it was a good moment and we played some big parts of the game really well and won the game.
“These kids are really appreciative of everything they did for him. The staff put in a lot of work and it also tells the person behind the player. The way we had to suffer the last few minutes, conceding the goal really poor. Overall after the international break I’m pleased to play really well.
“We deserved to win the game. We were dominant but it’s true we conceded the goal because we didn’t defend the box well enough. When you concede a goal two minutes to go in the Premier League you hang in there for the rest.
“We expected this [from Fulham], well coached, difficult to get through. Have to be patient and aggressive, our front line was and [Gabriel] Martinelli had a good game.
“We are strong as a team, the culture is strong, the willingness to adapt and go for it is also there.”
Saka has now been involved in 23 goals in all competitions this season (10 goals, 13 assists).
He is the third Premier League player to record 10+ goals and 10+ assists in each of the last three seasons, along with Mohamed Salah and Bruno Fernandes.
Arsenal are still unbeaten when scoring the opening goal in the Premier League this season (W14 D5), winning each of their last five such games in the competition.
Up next for Arsenal in the Premier League is a clash against Everton on Tuesday at Goodison Park.
In the other Premier League matches on Tuesday, Nottingham Forest earned a 1-0 victory over Manchester United thanks to a goal from Anthony Elanga.
Wolves recorded a 1-0 win over courtesy of Jorge n Strand Larsen’s goal in the 21st minute.
