Arsenal 2-1 Fulham
by Layth Yousif
at Ashburton Grove

HIS FAMOUS heart celebration, a beaming smile, and the joyous confirmation of teammates, following his goal a mere seven minutes after his return, was all we really needed as proof Bukayo Saka is back.

After all, they don’t call him Arsenal’s Star Boy for nothing.

With 17 minutes remaining of a mundane Premier League match, marred by a possible season-ending injury to Gabriel, who else but Saka made the home crowd cheer from the rafters with a goal, to cap a fairytale return to first team action after four months out.

The 23-year-old stepping up to lift Gunners spirits by scoring from close range, after latching onto Gabriel’s exquisite touch into the box, to double the home side’s lead, following Mikel Merino opening goal before half-time.

Speaking after the match, Mikel Arteta said of Saka’s return after 101 days out: “It was a beautiful reaction from our people to show him that love, respect and admiration he fully deserves.

“His reaction straight away after scoring was to say thank you to all the sports scientists, physios and everyone who has participated in his recovery.

“It tells you who he is as a person, so it’s impossible not to love him.”

Yet, while Arteta would be satisfied with the victory, the Gunners boss will be hugely concerned over the severity of the injury his indispensable centre-back Gabriel sustained, after the Brazilian defender hobbled off after only 15 minutes, with what looked a season-ending hamstring issue.

It was typical of Arsenal this season, to endure a further setback, just as there seemed to be light at the end of the tunnel regarding another injury that has cost them dearly this campaign, namely the return of the much-missed Saka.

While an off-field spot of positivity came from the fact that new sporting director Andrea Berta was present, sandwiched between managing director Richard Garlick and executive vice-chair Tim Lewis, judging by the continued lack of strikers on view the experienced Italian certainly knows where he must make an immediate impact this summer.

Cottagers boss Marco Silva made five changes from the side that lost 3-0 at home to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup quarter-final, and to the surprise of many started brightly.

In the 15th minute, Gabriel went down with what looked like a hamstring issue after pulling up in a sprint with Adam Traore.

Yet the ball didn’t go out of play for a minute or so, and the Arsenal defender tried to play on before eventually succumbing. 

Who knows how much damage he’s done before the eagerly awaited two-legged Champions League quarter-final clash with Real Madrid starting next week, with Jakub Kiwior replacing the indispensable Brazilian centre-back.

Shortly afterwards, Jurrien Timber also went down, after receiving a kick on his knee, as a hush fell over the stadium. Surely it wasn’t another serious injury. 

While the Netherlands international was up and running again soon afterwards, the knock took its toll and the former Ajax defender had to give way in the second half.

Speaking after the match, Arteta said: “They [Gabriel and Timber] are two players in this team that never want to come off.

“Gabi felt something in his hamstring, we don’t know how big that is and with Jurrien as well, he was already struggling very early in the game.

“He managed to continue and at some point he couldn’t, so, that’s the downside to it.”

Arteta added: “You can imagine, we’ve lost four players in the defensive line in one week — Calafiori, Ben White, Jurrien and Gabi Magalhaes.

“We have still another four that are so willing that they will do their job.”

With seven minutes remaining until the break, Merino made it six goals for club and country by firing home past former Gunner Bernd Leno with a scrappy finish that came off Fulham’s Jorge Cuenca, to put the home side 1-0 ahead. The strike made all the more enjoyable following the impish Ethan Nwaneri’s cutback.

The home side nearly doubled their lead moments after the interval, when Nwaneri fed Martin Odegaard in a central position, but the Gunners captain fired over when well-placed.

Fulham were not to be outdone, and, after a rare slip by William Saliba, Raul Jimenez powered through to see his shot parried by David Raya at the near post.

As the tempo rose, despite the temperatures dropping to make for a chilly evening in north London following a gloriously sunny early spring day, Timber latched onto a give and go with Odegaard before blasting the ball at Leno, who bravely blocked from close range.

With the game opening up, Merino had a shot blocked as the Gunners sought a second that would kill the game.

What we thought would be the biggest cheer of the evening came when Saka made his long-awaited reappearance, when switching with Nwaneri on 66 minutes.

However, that was before the Hale End academy graduate slotted home from close range on 73 minutes, after Martinelli’s sublime touch into the box, as the home crowd erupted in delight.

As the clock ticked down, Rodrigo Muniz missed an absolute sitter, heading wide with the goal at his mercy only a matter of yards out. 

Prior to Muniz making amends in the fourth minute of injury time with a deflected strike off Saliba that was nothing more than a consolation for Silva’s side.

For all that really remains from this match was the joyful return of Saka.

That and the fear of losing Gabriel, ahead of Arsenal’s biggest Champions League match in nearly two decades next week.