Football Review | Arsenal 3 - 0 Fulham

Arsenal moved six points clear at the top of the Premier League 

Bukayo Saka playing a starring role and Viktor Gyokeres taking his season's goal tally to 21 as they comfortably beat Fulham

Author | DJ

Stadium | Emirates Stadium

Mikel Arteta's men took the chance to pile the pressure on title rivals Manchester City who have played two games fewer than the Gunners and are not in action until Monday when they visit Everton.

Arsenal went ahead in the ninth minute when Saka, making his first start since March after an Achilles injury, easily beat Raul Jimenez down the right and picked out Gyokeres to tap in from close range for his 20th goal of the campaign.

The home side then scored two goals in five minutes before half-time

Gyokeres turned provider five minutes before the break he slipped a pass into Saka and the England winger curled a quality low finish past Fulham keeper Bernd Leno at his near post.

The Swedish striker then claimed his second when he headed home Leandro Trossard's cross to wrap up the three points in first-half stoppage time.

Watch | Click here to watch highlights of the match from the Fulham perspective

The Gunners almost added a fourth when Riccardo Calafiori headed on to the crossbar, with the Italian having had an earlier strike ruled out for offside.

The second-half was rather uneventful from an Arsenal perspective. Not necessarily a bad thing when you're chasing success on two different fronts. A couple of fans near me were wondering if they might regret not scoring another couple as it might come down to goal difference.

Watch | An Arsenal goalscorer reacts to his side's performance. Video from Sky Sports

Preparations now begin for a Champions League semi-final

Having made five changes to his starting line-up, Arteta was also able to take off Saka at half-time and rest other key players as focus moved to Arsenal's Champions League semi-final second-leg tie against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. The game is finely poised at 1-1 for the return leg at Emirates Stadium.

View from the stands | Arsenal fans getting excited again

You would struggle to script it much better than that from an Arsenal perspective.

With City tied up in FA Cup action last week and not due back in league action until Monday, this felt like a real opportunity to put some daylight at the top. The players and manager grabbed it with both hands.

After some criticism in recent weeks, Arteta deserves huge credit for a bold call that paid off. Deploying Myles Lewis-Skelly in midfield for the first time raised a few eyebrows, particularly with Martin Zubimendi left out despite being one of the most relied-upon players this season. But the decision worked a treat.

Lewis-Skelly looked completely at home, composed and confident throughout. With Riccardo Calafiori, Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze all in the side, the attack had a fluency that has been missing in recent weeks.

For that first-half, Saka was electric. He looked sharp, direct and dangerous every time he got on the ball, causing constant problems before being taken off at the break.

Viktor Gyokeres was also great as well, following up his midweek showing against Atletico with two more goals. There has been some noise around him since his move from Sporting, but 21 goals in all competitions tells its own story.

It is worth noting that the last Arsenal player to hit 20 or more in their debut season was Alexis Sanchez back in 2014 to 2015, which puts his contribution into context.