Bukayo Saka made an instant impact on his return from injury as he helped Arsenal to a 2-1 win against Fulham on Tuesday. The 23-year-old came off the bench for his first Premier League appearance since December and had the ball in the net just seven minutes later to secure the points after Mikel Merino gave the Gunners a first-half lead.
Arsenal were dealt an early blow as Gabriel Magalhaes went off injured and Jurrien Timber had a scare not long after, but Mikel Arteta's men were able to shake it off and steal the lead late in the half. Ethan Nwaneri was found down the right wing and the teenager cut back to Merino in the box. The midfielder-turned-striker prodded towards goal and it beat Bernd Leno with the help of a deflection for his sixth league goal of the season.
The Gunners kept up the pressure in the second half, with Gabriel Martinelli running the Fulham defence ragged, but it was Saka who made sure the three points stayed in north London shortly after he came on. Martinelli kicked the attack into life, playing the ball wide to Merino, who carried it forward before lobbing it into the box for the Brazilian to flick on to the substitute for a fine finish.
Fulham should have given Arsenal something to worry about for the last 10 minutes when Adama Traore's excellent cross found Rodrigo Muniz unmarked, but he was left in utter shock as he realised his header had missed the target. The Brazilian redeemed himself in stoppage time when he his shot deflected past David Raya, and the visitors even pushed for an equaliser, but it did not come.
GOAL rates Arsenal's players from the Emirates Stadium...
