Player ratings: Arsenal 2-1 Fulham

Arsenal and Bukayo Saka returned to action on Tuesday night and took all three points in the process.

The story was always Saka’s return and in the end his goal off the bench turned out to be the winner. Rodrigo Muniz netted a late deflected consolation to leave Arsenal a bit jittery, but Fulham offered little threat throughout the rest of the game.

Arsenal led through a deflected shot of their own, Mikel Merino again on the scoresheet. Saka’s back post header gave the Gunners the buffer they needed to ensure all three points came their way.

Gabriel’s injury was the worrying part of the evening, with Real Madrid on the horizon. Jurriem Timber was also struggling and had to be subbed late, though this appeared a contact injury – which will concern the medical staff less.

Rate the players below and see the fan averages, and scroll down to see my ratings. 

Here’s how I rated the players:

David Raya – 7

Jurrien Timber – 7

William Saliba – 6

Gabriel – N/A – Jakub Kiwior subbed on – 6

Myles Lewis-Skelly – 7

Thomas Partey – 7

Martin Odegaard – 5

Declan Rice – 6

Gabriel Martinelli – 7

Ethan Nwaneri – 7

Mikel Merino – 8

Men of the match: Mikel Merino. Merino is doing some job filling in for Arsenal at centre-forward, again on the scoresheet and working hard for the team. Late in the game he dropped into midfield and was effective too. Much better performances in 2025 from the Spaniard. More of the same against Madrid, please.