Arsenal moved six points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League following a 3-0 win over Fulham at the Emirates Stadium yesterday.
Manager Mikel Arteta made five changes to the starting line-up on the back of a difficult trip to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.
Despite this, the Gunners were exceptional in the opening half. They attacked with intent and dominated proceedings, scoring three goals without reply.
Viktor Gyokeres and Bukayo Saka were the standout performers. The former scored a brace and provided an assist for Saka, who bagged the second goal.
However, Myles Lewis-Skelly was equally good from the heart of the Gunners’ midfield.
The Gunners graduate started as a specialist midfielder for the first time in his senior Arsenal career, and showed his class with a flawless performance.
Some eyebrows were raised when he got the nod over Martin Zubimendi, but he made his mark with a fabulous showing against Marco Silva’s side.
Lewis-Skelly completed 97 per cent of his passes (64/66). He won seven duels, made six recoveries and induced four fouls from the opposition, too.
Speaking after the game, Arteta said that Lewis-Skelly fully deserves the praise and added that he had an ‘incredible’ performance against the Cottagers.
He told reporters: “He fully deserves it. I’ve been tough on him. He had a spectacular season last year when he jumped into the first team.
“He had some difficult moments after that, but he stayed very humble, very focused, very aligned with what we wanted to do, and I knew he was ready.
“He’s been showing in training every day the opportunities that he had to play. He’s done it, and today he really stepped up, and I thought he had an incredible performance.”
Arsenal have moved six points clear of second-placed Man City, who have a couple of games in hand. The Gunners also have a decent goal difference over the Cityzens (+4).
The onus is now on Man City to respond. They face Everton on the road on Monday, then host Brentford next weekend, before Arsenal play again at West Ham United.
Arsenal’s immediate focus will turn to the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Atletico. The tie is balanced at 1-1 after the away leg.
Arteta has a selection headache on his hands. The Spaniard needs to decide whether to reinstate Zubimendi or continue with Lewis-Skelly in midfield.