Arsenal are aiming to make it four wins out of four by welcoming unbeaten Fulham at their home on Saturday.
It was a stylish performance from the Gunners again as they ran out 3-o winners against newly promoted Bournemouth while Fulham grabbed a late winner in a thrilling London derby with Brentford.
ARS vs FUL Match Details
Date: Saturday 27 August 2022
Time: 17:30 (BST) / 22:00 (IST)
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London
ARS vs FUL Match Preview
On top of the league with a hundred per cent record, Arsenal are the only team heading into match week four without dropping a single point. This early season form is a great lift for the Gunners who are desperate to seal Champions League football at the end of this season having missed the competition narrowly the last term. Mikel Arteta's side ran riot once again with their attacking prowess as a Martin Odegaard brace followed by a splendid strike by fan favorite William Saliba grabbed a 3-0 victory over innocuous Bournemouth. Gabriel Jesus once again caused chaos to the Cherries defense as he has done in the previous wins against Crystal Palace and Leicester City. The Brazilian’s brilliance is giving Arsenal the agility in the attack lacking last season with fellow national teammate Martinelli proving too hot to handle for the opposition as well. Oleksandr Zinchenko’s versatility has also pushed Granit Xhaka higher up the pitch to be an extra creative option for the team. Saliba looks a class apart in guarding the back four assuring his manager after a long time that he is the right player for the job. All of these players have set the benchmark in these games. Now the question is whether they can carry it for the most part of the season. Winning was not an issue for Arsenal last season too as they secured 22 victories last season but suffered 13 defeats which is a lot for a team like them. Arteta believes the new impressive signings will help them reduce the losses and bring more positive results in the bag. The start of this season is more encouraging than the three straight humiliating losses the team endured at the beginning of the previous campaign. The Gunners face Fulham next who have impressed so far remaining unbeaten in the first three games. Arsenal dropped points last time the pair met at the Emirates but the Gunners are unbeaten against the Cottagers since 2012 so this should not be a fixture to jeopardize their delightful start to this season.
Marco Silva’s Fulham have shown the right attitude required in a top-flight competition so far in the first three games of the season. They restricted Liverpool to a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage in their first game back in the Premier League since suffering relegation a year ago with a 0-0 draw against Wolves and lately a stunning 3-2 win over Brentford last weekend. The winning header was scored by none other than Aleksandar Mitrovic who has carried his 40 goals scoring form in the Championship to the Premier League netting three already as much as he has managed in his previous top-flight season. Mitrovic is now silencing his criticism of not scoring at the same rate as he always does in second-division football. His way of piling at the back post to strike a bullet header in the win showed his striking instinct. Having him in this manner is a triumph for Marco Silva as the Serbian will be a concern for the rest of the defenses to handle. The manager demands his scoring feet again facing an in-form side like Arsenal. Fulham have picked up five points from three games and are placed seventh on the table though a win will take them within a point gap of the Gunners. It is easier said than done as Arsenal looks like a well-oiled side this time around with less possibility of slipping off from their early momentum. Also, the Cottagers surprisingly lost against League Two Crawley Town in the midweek EFL cup clash fielding a second-string side but not an excuse for the result. The league remains the priority for Marco Silva’s men so the defeat is likely won’t matter much going into the weekend. Fulham did a brilliant job in preventing Liverpool to orchestrate their game which led to their success and the same will be asked against Arsenal thriving from their free-flowing football. However, the 1-1 draw last time in this clash was the only positivity the away side received after six straight losses facing the Gunners.
Recent Form (League)
ARS: WWW
FUL: WDD
ARS vs FUL Team News
Arsenal have a fully fit squad available with only Reiss Nelson missing out for a few weeks with an injury. This means new signing Fabio Vieria can make his official debut at the weekend after recovering from a foot injury. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Emil Smith Rowe have also regained full fitness although the right-back has to wait for his start to start a game as Ben White has made the place of his own in the first three games of the season. In the defense, William Saliba is also unshakable. His start to life with first-team football for Arsenal has been remarkable and he increased his stock by scoring a spectacular goal in the win over Bournemouth. Smith Rowe also has little chance for the breakthrough in the starting eleven with Gabriel Martinelli in superb form and Martin Odegaard running the show for the Gunners.
Neeskens Kabano has made him a doubt for the game after tweaking a groin in the 0-0 draw against Wolves that made him miss the London derby with Brentford last weekend. Fulham will also miss new signing Manor Solomon requiring a knee surgery like Harry Wilson who is another absentee for an extended period of time. Marco Silva has no other injury problems in the squad. Goalkeeper Bernd Leno will be facing his old side for the first time since joining Fulham this summer from them.
ARS vs FUL Predicted Lineups
ARS: Aaron Ramsdale; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Thomas, Granit Xhaka; Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli; Gabriel Jesus
FUL: Bernd Leno; Kenny Tete, Tosin Adarabioyo, Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson; Harrison Reed, Joao Palhinha; Jay Stansfield, Andreas Pereira, Cordova-Reid; Aleksandar Mitrovic
ARS vs FUL Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: Ramsdale
DEF: Robinson, Saliba, Ream, Zinchenko
MID: Odegaard, Palhinha, Xhaka
FW: Jesus, Mitrovic, Martinelli
Captain: Gabriel Jesus or Aleksandar Mitrovic
Vice-captain: Granit Xhaka or Gabriel Martinelli
