Arsenal’s 5-1 win and their ninth win in a row came at the expense of Fulham FC, who have conceded more Premier League goals than any other side and remain the only team in the league to not keep a clean sheet.
Alexandre Lacazette struck first before Andre Schurrle levelled the score just before half time with a perfectly weighted chipped effort over Bernd Leno after Luciano Vietto found the German with a precise through pass.
That was about as good as it got for Fulham and Arsenal wasted to time in exploiting their fragile defence after the break. Lacazette added a second with an effort from range that caught Marcus Bettinelli off guard, Aaron Ramsey scored from the bench and Pierrer Emerick-Aubameyang netted twice to round things off.
Leno proves his worth
Petr Cech’s unfortunate hamstring injury was an absolute blessing for Bernd Leno. Although it’s never nice to see a fellow professional and teammate pick up an injury that is going to keep him out of action for up to a month, there will have been a small bit of Leno that was very excited.
In Cech’s absence Leno finally has the chance to put together a run of matches in goal for Arsenal, and he is already beginning to prove he is worth every bit of the £20m they spent on him in the summer.
Leno was tested straight away at Craven Cottage by Luciano Vietto’s long range effort that took a deflection off Rob Holding, making his reaction save that bit more impressive. From then he continued to command his penalty area and showed he can quickly cover ground as he chased down Ryan Sessegnon and intercepted a dangerous through pass. It was a decent performance, and one that is likely to prove he is Arsenal’s number one goalkeeper.
Alex Iwobi makes case to be Arsenal regular
Of all the people to improve the most under Emery, Iwobi will have been down the list of likely players to become key men in the new manager’s transformation.
Iwobi continued his fine start to the season with another impressive performance against Fulham, albeit he was helped by their lack of defensive organisation.
Perhaps the greatest difference between his displays this season compared with year is the upturn in his decision making during the crucial phases of play. His passes are slicker and attacking runs are made with purpose and determination, a stark contrast to his previous years at Arsenal.
Fulham still can’t defend
At first, the recently promoted excuse along with a team filled with new players was able to justify Fulham’s dreadful defending since their return to the Premier League, but they’ve had long enough now to sort it out.
Against Arsenal there was no defensive organisation, personal responsibility or desire from Fulham to close down the spaces and sit tight to make things hard for Arsenal. Alex Iwobi enjoyed an alarming amount of time on Arsenal’s left-side, and Lacazette and Aubameyang were both allowed the space to turn in the box before scoring from close range.
Fulham have some very good players going forward and their open and expansive style of play is exciting to watch, but this comes at a steep price. No team has a worse defensive record than Fulham, who are the only side to have not kept a clean sheet this season, and you fear the worst if they continue to ship goals in the way they have done in these opening eight matches.
Fulham’s loan signings do the business
Fulham’s assault on the transfer market on deadline day has left Slavisa Jokanovic with a host of quality players, an impressive haul for a recently promoted side, and none better than two loan signings: Andre Schurrle and Luciano Vietto.
Vietto’s perfectly weighted through ball to split the Arsenal defence was finished off by Schurrle, who executed his chipped shot over Leno to perfection as Fulham drew level in the first half.
Fulham’s business in the summer was some of the best in the Premier League and the quality in their side, particularly the Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund duo, makes up for their lacklustre defence and is what makes them competitive.
It’s time to re-assess what to expect from Arsenal
This year was always going to be a free hit for the players, manager and board following Arsene Wenger’s 21 seasons in charge, just look at the chaos at Old Trafford.
Emery’s start reaffirmed the need to be cautious about expectations, but after winning his ninth game in a row, it’s time to expect more. Arsenal are a club which should not be satisfied with standing still, taking stock and watching their rivals succeed.
The chants from the travelling supporters in the Putney end reflected this, “we’ve got our Arsenal back,” they sang. Emery will have a points and trophy target in mind for this season, although he won’t admit it, but you can get the feeling this is a year that Arsenal supporters can allow themselves to get really excited about.
