Arsenal sweep Fulham aside to restore five-point lead at top

Craven Cottage is generally considered to be a “good away.” The walk through Bishop’s Park from Putney Bridge tube. The river view. The genteel home support. It really was for Arsenal here, a victory to respond to that of Manchester City on Saturday not in doubt from the early running when Mikel Arteta’s team made it plain that they would be operating on another level.

It has been a stellar season for Fulham – Marco Silva has overseen an unexpected push for European qualification – but they were abject during the first half, pulling up seats for eleven and watching Arsenal sweep into an unassailable lead.

“We’re gonna win the league,” chanted the travelling fans after Gabriel Martinelli had made it 2-0 on 26 minutes, applying the finish to a lovely box-to-box team move, Fulham chasing shadows. It was supposed to be one of a clutch of tricky away games for Arsenal over the run-in – the others being Liverpool, City and Newcastle. But it was nothing of the sort, their lead over City back up to five points.

Gabriel Magalhaes scored the first; the insistently brilliant Martin Ødegaard the third and that was that by half-time, Arsenal en route to a fifth Premier League win on the spin, 15 goals scored during the sequence. Up in the stands, Mick Jagger could smile. For him and his fellow Arsenal supporters, there was only satisfaction. It was a nice touch from Fulham to play ‘Start Me Up’ by the Rolling Stones at half-time. They were the most accommodating of hosts.

The day had begun with talk of a selection headache up front for Arteta; it would ease when Leandro Trossard passed a fitness test to lead the line, albeit in the false way of the times. He would set up all three goals. And it would end with Gabriel Jesus getting on