Arsenal vs Fulham Preview: Victory Vital for Gunners in Title Race

Arsenal looking to build title lead at home to London rivals.

Title-chasing Arsenal will hope to stretch their advantage at the top of the Premier League to six points when they take on Fulham.

The Gunners would benefit most from a large goal difference swing, which could prove decisive in an extremely tight title race.

Fulham, meanwhile, will move into the European qualification places with a win.

Form Guide

League leaders Arsenal have begun to recover their form following a run of five losses and a draw either side of the March international break.

The Gunners’ 1-0 win at home to Newcastle United last week was backed up by a 1-1 draw away at Atlético Madrid in the first leg of the pair’s Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.

Fulham also won 1-0 at home last Saturday, with Ryan Sessegnon’s winner against Aston Villa the team’s only goal in their last three games.

The Cottagers have not scored in any of their last three away games, having drawn 0-0 at Nottingham Forest and Brentford, and lost 2-0 to Liverpool.

The West London side’s last away victory came from their 3-1 win against Sunderland on February 22nd.

Head-to-Head Record

Saturday’s hosts have won their last two games against Fulham, with a Leandro Trossard strike proving the difference in Arsenal’s 1-0 win at Craven Cottage in October.

Fulham have only beaten Arsenal once in their last 15 meetings, when Marco Silva’s side claimed a 2-1 win at home on New Year’s Eve 2023.

Their away record in this fixture is even worse, with Fulham never having won away at Arsenal in 33 attempts in the club’s history.

They have managed two draws in their last four trips to the Emirates, however, since the appointment of Mikel Arteta as Arsenal manager in 2019.

Key Battle: Can Arsenal Find a Cutting Edge?

Arsenal have the best defensive record in the Premier League this season, having only conceded 26 goals, three fewer than closest rivals Manchester City.

They have been criticised for a lack of creativity going forward, however, and their perceived over-reliance on set pieces to find goals.

A lot of this criticism has been directed at striker Viktor Gyökeres, who was described as “barely visible” by Portuguese newspaper A Bola following his side’s win over Sporting CP.

The Swedish striker is Arsenal’s top scorer in the league this season, however, with 12 goals five more than second-placed Eberechi Eze.

Gyökeres will come up against a Fulham defence who have just kept back-to-back clean sheets. Marco Silva may decide to maintain the settled back four from these two games (Sessegnon, Calvin Bassey, Joachim Andersen, and Timothy Castagne) instead of rotating his defenders, as he has for most of the season.

Fulham’s defence has been their strongest asset this season, with the Cottagers having only conceded 46 league goals the same number as third-placed Manchester United.

Arsenal’s attack may be weakened by injuries to Kai Havertz and Mikel Merino. Both of these players offer an alternative to Gyökeres upfront and can drop deep, bringing Arsenal’s creative players into play.

They also allow Arteta to rest Gyökeres in certain fixtures. This would have been particularly useful on Saturday, with the second leg against Atlético coming up on Tuesday.

What It Means

Arsenal begin the weekend three points clear of title rivals Manchester City and would go six points clear of the chasers with a win.

This would increase the pressure on City before they play the first of what will be two games in hand away at Everton on Monday.

If both these sides win all their remaining fixtures, then goal difference would be used to decide the title. Arsenal’s goal difference is currently one better than City’s, but with the Gunners having one fewer game left to play, a big win would go a long way to calming their fans’ nerves.

Fulham are one of a group of seven teams separated by four points, who are all chasing places in the Europa League and Europa Conference League.

It is possible that sixth place where Fulham could climb to this weekend if they win and other results go their way will yield Champions League qualification. This depends on Aston Villa dropping to fifth and winning the Europa League.

Prediction

Arsenal have been lacking the form which saw them build a lead at the top of the league in the first half of the season.

They are highly capable of grinding out one-goal wins, however, having done so 15 times already this season in all competitions especially at home.

Arsenal’s resolute defence, combined with Fulham’s recent struggles in front of goal, should be enough to win the Gunners the three points they need.

Arsenal 1-0 Fulham