Five talking points from our win over Fulham | Stats | News
A dazzling first-half display was the basis for an important 3-0 home win over Fulham in the Premier League.
Here we take a closer look at the key moments and stats you might have missed from the game:
BACK WITH A BANG
Bukayo Saka was back in the starting line-up for the first time since the Carabao Cup final in March, making his 200th Premier League start in the process. Aged 24 years and 239 days, he’s the fourth-youngest player to reach that milestone in the competition behind Gareth Barry, Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand.
He only played the first half, but it was 45 minutes brimful of action. He set up the opening goal with a fine low cross for Viktor Gyokeres, then finished superbly inside the near post past former teammate Bernd Leno for his 10th goal of the season.
It was also his 150th goal involvement for us in his Gunners career, consisting of 80 goals and 70 assists from 308 games.
Our winger had created four chances during the first half, three more than any other Gunners player, before being withdrawn at the interval, perhaps with one eye on Tuesday night’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid.
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Highlights: Arsenal 3-0 Fulham
20 UP FOR VIKTOR
Gyokeres’ opener was the Swede’s 20th goal of the season in all competitions, becoming the first Arsenal player to reach that landmark in his debut season since Alexis Sanchez in 2014/15.
Indeed our No. 14 is only the second Arsenal player to achieve that particular feat since the turn of the century – Thierry Henry was the previous forward to do it in 1999/2000. In our entire history, only 13 players have ever managed it.
This was Gyokeres’ 50th Gunners appearance; his goals have come in all four competitions: Premier League (14), Champions League (5), FA Cup (1) and League Cup (1).
He added an assist and second goal before half-time – it’s the first time he’s had three goal involvements in a single Premier League game. Viktor received a richly deserved standing ovation from the Emirates Stadium faithful when he was withdrawn just after the hour mark.
MLS IN MIDFIELD
Mikel Arteta made five changes from the side that beat Newcastle in our previous Premier League game, the most he had made all season.
One of those changes was to bring Myles Lewis-Skelly into central midfield, for the first time in his senior career, having played most of his academy days in that position. Although he had come on in midfield a few times, all of his previous 40 starts for the first team had been at left-back.
He started the game especially well, helping to set the tone for the performance by winning five of his six duels in the opening 20 minutes – at least three more than any other player on the pitch.
The ’49, 49 Lewis-Skelly’ chants that rang round the stadium in the second half would have been music to the teenagers’ ears. On a day when long-serving academy manager Per Mertesacker was presented with a silver cannon as he prepares to bring his long and successful career to a close, it was fitting that one of his protégés shone on centre stage.
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Lewis-Skelly delighted with his midfield impact
RACKING UP THE WINS
This was our 41st victory of the season across all competitions, equalling the club record for most wins in a single campaign. That record was set back in 1970/71, our first league and FA Cup double-winning season, when we won 41 of our 64 matches.
We have played 58 games so far in 2025/26, with (hopefully) five still left to play. Our win rate for the campaign is now 70.7%, comfortably the best in our history, beating the 67.3% rate from 2023/24. It was also our 23rd win in the league, the same number we racked up when lifting the Premier League title in 1997/98 (and more than we racked up in our 1988/89 title success).
With the top of the table so tight, the goals we scored were also important. In scoring three, we made it 115 for the season, beating last year’s tally. The last time we scored more goals in a single campaign was 2016/17 (121).
DOMINANCE CONTINUES
The win that moved us six points clear at the top of the league and increased our goal difference to four over second-placed Manchester City, plus extended our excellent run over Fulham.
The west Londoners have now failed to beat us in all 33 league visits to our home – either Highbury or Emirates Stadium – with us winning 26 of those games, and drawing the other seven.
It’s the most any side has faced another without defeat in English Football League history.
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The 122-year run we want to extend against Fulham
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