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By Graham Ruthven
Title race pressure
They say pressure is a privilege, but Arsenal’s players could be forgiven for feeling somewhat worn down by the number of big matches they have played in recent weeks.
Mikel Arteta and his players were in Spain to face Atlético Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday and will now host Fulham in an encounter that could have a big bearing on the Premier League title race.
While it remains difficult to call which of the top two will finish the season as champions, Arsenal have the opportunity to pile pressure on Manchester City by beating Fulham.
Victory on Saturday would mean City kick off their fixture against Everton on Monday six points behind the Gunners, albeit with two games in-hand. The physiological advantage could be significant.
After back-to-back defeats to Bournemouth and City in the league, Arsenal returned to winning ways by beating Newcastle United last weekend.
However, their performance against the Magpies highlighted some familiar problems in open play. Saturday’s match might be yet another grind for the Gunners at a time when results are all that matter.
The same could be said for Fulham who require points to boost their chances of qualifying for Europe. The Cottagers have lost just one of their last five league fixtures and could cause an upset in North London.
Key players
Were it not for the stakes of the title race, Arteta might have been tempted to rotate his team ahead of next week’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Atlético.
As it is, most of Arsenal’s best players are expected to start against Fulham. Viktor Gyökeres will lead the line after scoring from the spot in Madrid with Eberechi Eze in line to keep his place in the lineup.
Bukayo Saka is leading Arsenal for shots on target per 90 this season and could start after only making the bench against Atleti. The Gunners have missed his dynamism on the right wing recently.
Declan Rice has created more Big Chances than any other Arsenal player this term and will be a controlling figure in central midfield in front of the solid defensive partnership of Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba.
Harry Wilson has contributed more goals and assists than any other Fulham player over the 2025/26 campaign and will be a threat with his shooting from outside the box.
Raúl Jiménez could be dangerous in the air with Ryan Sessegnon fresh from scoring the winner against Aston Villa. His speed down the left side could expose space behind the Arsenal full backs.
Bernd Leno might have to be in top form to prevent his former side from finding the back of the net with Joachim Andersen Fulham’s most dominant defender in front of the goalkeeper.
Team news
Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and Mikel Merino remain sidelined for Arsenal with Saka a doubt to start. However, Arteta could afford the English winger more game time to prepare him for next week’s rematch against Atletico Madrid.
Eze sustained an injury in the win over Newcastle, but was still fit enough to make a contribution in the Champions League during the week.
Sessegnon is possibly Fulham’s biggest injury concern after the full back came off against Villa. He could, however, still feature with Antonee Robinson ready to step in as deputy.
Alex Iwobi is unavailable due to a thigh problem while Kevin and Kenny Tete are also working their way back to fitness.
Prediction
Arsenal haven’t scored more than once in a game since victory over Everton back in mid-March, but they have often proven that they know how to get a result this season, so we’ll go with a narrow home win: Arsenal 1-0 Fulham.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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