Fulham 0-3 Arsenal | Premier League | Match report & summary | Leandro Trossard

Belgian winger Leandro Trossard was the star of the show in West London as Arsenal maintained their lead at the top of the Premier League; Mikel Arteta got his 100th win as Fulham fell to a 0-3 defeat with goals from Gabriel, Martinelli and Ødegaard proved too much to handle.

It took 21 minutes for Arsenal to break the deadlock after a Trossard corner found the head of centre-back Gabriel, who towered above the rest of the jumping pack to smack the ball onto Leno’s hand and into the net. Fulham had the ball in the back of net just minutes before but Antonee Robinson’s effort was ruled out for offside.

The second goal came from the same side as the first, as Trossard got on the end of a pass down the left wing after an impressive move from the away team that broke the Fulham press and send Arteta’s men away on the counter attack. Trossard went one vs one with right-back Kenny Tete and a quick stop-start flick to the defender’s right gave the Belgian just enough room to send a cross over to Martinelli, who scored Arsenal’s second header of the day just 5 minutes after the first.

Fulham going 0-2 down meant they could attack with more freedom and against an Arsenal side that were now comfortable, but the next huge chance came for the away side, with Trossard turning from provider into finisher and firing a close-range effort wide of the goal after some excellent work between Saka and Ødegaard on Arsenal’s right side.

Unfortunately for the home side, the threats on goal would not stop there: Ødegaard took down a Trossard cross from the left before skipping inside towards the penalty spot. One, two, three touches past the defenders’ legs and a laser shot past Leno was enough for Arsenal to feel that the job was potentially done at half-time. The Norwegian has arguably taken the leading role in The Gunners’ season as they charge towards the title, but there was no self-congratulation from Ødegaard, who recognised that the star of the day was Trossard, by running straight to the player who had bagged a hat-trick of assists in 45 minutes.

Fulham came close in the second half after Mitrovic’s header cannoned off the crossbar, but it was Arsenal who would, despite not scoring, have the clearest of the chances to get a goal. Gabriel Jesus made his long-awaited return for The Gunners after he was substituted in the 77th minute, and just 8 minutes later he would have a chance to mark the perfect comeback with a goal. Fabio Vieira played the striker through but a lack of match fitness meant that the Brazilian didn’t connect well with the shot and Leno managed to get a leg on the ball.

It was not to matter, as the heroic comeback from Fulham was never there and Arsenal managed to keep their 5 point lead over Manchester City. And they did so with a new hero.