Premier League news: Arsenal take control in title race; pressure on Man City to respond
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal produced a commanding showing against Fulham on Saturday, May 2 at the Emirates, defeating their fellow Londoners 3-0, with pressure now on Manchester City to respond with a performance of their own against Everton on Monday.
Overcoming any title-race nerves, the Gunners proved their intent for league-winning glory is very much alive.
A brace for Viktor Gyokeres and a goal for Bukayo Saka was enough to see off Marco Silva’s men in a dominant first-half display.
Gyokeres and Saka link-up play
"They haven't played together much unfortunately because of the injuries that we had, but there were a lot of relationships that I really enjoyed today," Arteta told Sky Sports, referring to Gyokeres and Saka starting together.
Saka’s return
"I think the pain is gone," Arteta said, when asked about Saka recovering from his Achilles injury in his post-match press conference.
"That was something that was restricting his capacity to deliver certain actions. Today he felt loose, he felt relaxed."
Arteta: ‘We showed hunger’
The Arsenal boss was pleased with the synergy his side showed between each other, particularly the individual performances all over the pitch.
"I'm very happy with the team performance, individual performances,” he said.
"We knew how difficult it would be, especially coming back from Madrid so late on Thursday afternoon, and the energy we spent in the game.
"And understanding that, even if you don't want to talk about it, you have a huge game in a few days here.
"But we had the hunger and some fresh legs from a few players. The team flowed in a different way.
"We engaged the supporters and when that happens it's very difficult for opponents.”
The Gunners went six points clear at the top of table with their win, mounting pressure on Pep Guardiola and Man City to deliver with two games in hand on Arteta’s men.
READ NEXT: Champions League news: ‘Attacking players were impossible to stop’ says Jamie Carragher
