"It is what it is. We want to score as many as possible; we know the importance that this can have, against any opponent, so we need to improve that as well." Those were the words of Mikel Arteta following his side's impressive victory over Fulham on Sunday afternoon.
The former Manchester City assistant is evidently aware of the fine margins in this season's Premier League title race. After City scraped past Crystal Palace on Saturday evening courtesy of an Erling Haaland penalty, the Gunners chipped away at their rivals' goal difference advantage with a 3-0 win at Craven Cottage. READ MORE: Arteta lauds 'huge' Gabriel Jesus title race boost Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli scored in five first-half minutes to put the visitors into a commanding position on Sunday afternoon before Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard added a third just before half-time.
Despite not scoring in the second half, Arsenal had already chipped into the goal difference advantage that Pep Guardiola's side have over their title rivals.
Those three unanswered goals mean that they have now scored 62 goals compared to City's 67, while both have conceded exactly 25 each, meaning the goal difference separating the two sides has shrunk to just five.