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Bukayo Saka marked his return from a lengthy injury absence with a goal as Arsenal beat Fulham 2-1 on Tuesday to cut the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to nine points.
Saka came off the bench to head in on his first appearance since December 21, after Mikel Merino’s deflected effort had given Arsenal a first-half lead.
“It was a good opportunity to see how much people love him and missed him,” said Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on Saka’s ovation before he even stepped foot back on the field. “The reception he got was magnificent. It’s great to have him back,” he added.
Muniz nets for Fulham
Rodrigo Muniz pulled a goal back for the Cottagers in stoppage time. However, victory came at a cost for the Gunners as key defenders Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber were forced off due to injuries.
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Losing both defenders would be a massive blow for Arsenal’s Champions League quarter-final first leg fixture against Real Madrid next week. The Gunners had already lost left-back Riccardo Calafiori to a knee injury during the international break, while right-back Ben White succumbed to a minor injury in the same area in training prior to the Fulham game.
Nevertheless, Arteta still managed to see the silver lining. “It’s what it is. We’ve lost four players in the defensive line in one week — Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White, Timber and Magalhaes. [But] We have still another four that are willing to do the job. We want it [to beat Real Madrid] so much that we’re going to give it a real go and we are very excited for next week,” said Arteta.
At the very least, Saka’s return to fitness will give Arteta’s side a much needed boost as they enter the business end of the season.
Merino impresses again
Additionally, Mikel Merino continued to impress in his new position as a false-nine, scoring in back to back games with Arteta having been forced to deploy the midfielder in an attacking role to cover for the injury-enforced absence of strikers Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.
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