Leandro Trossard played a starring role as Premier League leaders Arsenal restored their five-point lead at the summit with a 3-0 victory over Fulham.
The Belgium international scored a hat-trick of assists at Craven Cottage, with Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard all benefiting.
Mikel Arteta’s side subsequently became the first team in English league history to win five consecutive away London derbies without conceding a single goal.
Arsenal, who welcomed Gabriel Jesus back from injury, also made it five Premier League titles in a row and took another step towards the title.
The Gunners thought they had taken the lead when Antonee Robinson headed through his own net in the 16th minute, but VAR ruled Martinelli offside before Bernd Leno parried his shot against a Fulham defender.
But Arsenal went ahead five minutes later when Gabriel, who scored in the reverse fixture in August, headed home Trossard’s corner.
Trossard was again the provider when his cross was nodded in by Martinelli at the far post after 26 minutes, while Odegaard tucked in another accurate cross from the former Brighton and Hove Albion man in first-half stoppage time.
Fulham were far more positive after the break. Bobby De Cordova-Reid drew a clever reflex save from Aaron Ramsdale while Aleksandar Mitrovic’s header hit the crossbar.
But Arsenal stood firm to deny their opponents a potential way back into the match and came close to extending their lead to victory through Odegaard and the returning Jesus.
Fulham player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Bernd Leno – 5/10 – Was left woefully exposed by his backline and made some decent saves, but perhaps should have done better for the first two goals he conceded.
RB: Kenny Tete – 5/10 – Was run ragged by Martinelli and Trossard in the first half but was much better in the second.
CB: Tosin Adarabioyo – 4/10 – Looked uncomfortable with the pace and fluidity of the Arsenal attack throughout.
CB: Tim Ream – 4/10 – Also struggled to keep track of the opposition forwards in a first half to forget.
LB: Antonee Robinson – 5/10 – Failed to keep Saka quiet, but then again so has pretty much every left-back in the Premier League this season, and he did well in possession.
DM: Harrison Reed – 4/10 – Didn’t do too good a job at protecting his defence or supplying his attack.
DM: Sasa Lukic – 6/10 – One of Fulham’s better players, winning the ball a number of times in midfield.
RM: Bobby Decordova-Reid – 5/10 – Almost scored with a good effort but didn’t do much else with Arsenal dominating.
AM: Andreas Pereira – 4/10 – Gave the ball away a lot and didn’t help out a huge amount defensively.
LM: Manor Solomon – 6/10 – Worked hard at both ends, pressing and tracking Ben White well.
ST: Aleksandar Mitrovic – 3/10 – Was completely dominated by Saliba and Gabriel throughout.
Substitutes
Harry Wilson (76′ for Pereira) – 6/10
Daniel James (76′ for Solomon) – 5/10
Manager
Marco Silva – 5/10 – Couldn’t stop his side from being completely outclassed in the first half but did at least ensure they drew the second.
Arsenal player ratings (4-3-3)
GK – Aaron Ramsdale – 6/10 – Made some good saves and commanded his box well.
RB – Ben White – 6/10 – Had an easy day defensively but would have hoped to have done more going forward.
CB – William Saliba – 7/10 – Was solid at the back and almost scored with a great effort.
CB – Gabriel Magalhaes – 8/10 – Dominated in the air at both ends, scoring from a corner and winning his battles with Mitrovic.
LB – Oleksandr Zinchenko – 7/10 – Was excellent on the ball as always in his inverted wing-back role.
CM – Martin Odegaard – 7/10 – Got a good goal on his return to action and made some dangerous passes too.
CM – Thomas Partey – 6/10 – Solid if spectacular at the base of the midfield.
CM – Granit Xhaka – 6/10 – Linked up well with his team-mates going forward but should have scored, missing a big chance.
RW – Bukayo Saka – 6/10 – As always, was a real livewire on the right, but his end product could have been better.
ST – Leandro Trossard – 9/10 – Treated us to a creative masterclass in the first half, getting three assists, and was unlucky not to score himself. Going by that display, Gabriel Jesus won’t just walk back into the Arsenal side.
LW – Gabriel Martinelli – 8/10 – Missed some chances but created some too and did score a goal. His link-up play with Trossard is a joy to watch.
Substitutes
Reiss Nelson (71′ for Saka) – 6/10
Kieran Tierney (72′ for Zinchenko) – 6/10
Fabio Vieira (77′ for Martinelli) – 6/10
Gabriel Jesus (77′ for Trossard) – 6/10
Takehiro Tomiyasu (80′ for White) – 6/10
Manager
Mikel Arteta – 8/10 – Got his game plan spot on, with his side producing some glorious football in the first half and preserving their energy in the second.
