Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Fulham: Saka Ends 500-Day Wait at Perfect Time

The returning talisman was back at his best in a comfortable win which widened the gap at the Premier League summit.

It was an impressive showing for Bukayo Saka. | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

LONDON — Bukayo Saka inspired Arsenal to a comfortable 3–0 win at home to Fulham on Saturday afternoon.

After teeing up Viktor Gyökeres’s early opener, Saka swatted in a second in the 40th minute, registering a goal and assist in the same game for the first time in almost 17 months—507 days to be precise. Gyökeres ended the match as a contest by completing his brace on the cusp of halftime.

The Gunners could ease through the second half with Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal second leg against Atlético Madrid on the mind. Domestically, the gap to Manchester City, who now have two games in hand, stands at six points, while the Gunners’ goal difference was given a healthy boost should it come down to those fine margins.

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One Thing We Can’t Ignore

Bukayo Saka scored the game’s second goal. | Marc Atkins/Getty Images

The last time Saka enjoyed a performance as decisive as his showing on Saturday was a Champions League first-round clash with Monaco back in December 2024. After nabbing a brace and an assist in that European tie, Arteta challenged his winger to “go to the next step” which came with the target of scoring “30 or 40” goals in a season. It’s been two steps backwards for Saka since.

Injuries—the origins of which undoubtedly lie in Arteta’s demands on his constant involvement—have hampered the overworked forward. The visit of Fulham was Saka’s first start in any competition since the March international break and it only lasted 45 minutes.

However, that was plenty of time for Saka to make his mark.

“Penetration is one of the words we use the most,” Arteta fretted pregame, “players taking initiative and making things happen ... It’s extremely difficult against a team that is so organized, so we need to find other ways.” One way was simply to give the ball to Saka.

The returning forward had already proven to be capable of skipping around USMNT’s Antonee Robinson during a one-sided opening nine minutes. When a short free kick saw him presented with the ball while facing Raúl Jiménez, his eyes lit up.

Fulham’s striker demonstrated all the defensive authority expected of a forward. A body feint from Arsenal’s skipper left Jiménez untangling himself from the turf, both feet planted on the ground while his midriff was horizontal, like a dad regretting his decision to show off his breakdancing at a wedding. Saka took advantage of the space, drove to the byline and rolled the ball into a position even Gyökeres couldn’t miss.

The Swedish striker would turn provider for Saka’s second, a wonderfully disguised shot whipped inside Bernd Leno’s near post, as the ground reveled in their returning hero. The only concern from an otherwise serene outing was Saka’s failure to emerge for the second half.

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Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Fulham (4-2-3-1)

It was a good day for the Gunners. | David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: David Raya—7.7: Not unduly overworked but alert when called into action.

RB: Ben White—7.1: The confidence and conviction which defined his early moments in the match were erased entirely by one mistake. White spent the remainder of the contest battling gravity as much as his direct opponent, Samu Chukwueze, who fortuitously offered little.

CB: William Saliba—7.0: The only moisture on Saliba’s forehead was from the warm spring rain which began midway through the first half. No sweat was broken.

CB: Gabriel—7.3: The Brazilian served as Jiménez’s chief jailer, locking Fulham’s No. 7 up for the entirety of the contest.

LB: Riccardo Calafiori—7.5: Denied a lovely header by a narrow offside, Calafiori’s attacking enthusiasm pierced through Fulham’s limp defensive resolve.

CM: Declan Rice—7.4: In the absence of the two Martins, Ødegaard and Zubimendi, Rice was left to build play on his own from the base of midfield.

CM: Myles Lewis-Skelly—7.3: Kept the ball moving in midfield, occasionally venturing a punched pass through the lines, while crunching into every duel which presented itself.

AM: Eberechi Eze—6.5: There is a newfound easiness to Eze’s game which was demonstrably lacking for the first half of his debut season.

RW: Bukayo Saka—8.7: On his first start since the disastrous Carabao Cup final, Saka looked like he’d never been away. Each corner of the stadium rose to applaud their favorite player when he trotted across to take a set piece, a reception earned by his reputation and justified by his performance.

ST: Viktor Gyökeres—9.1: All of his familiar running actually had a point to it for once. On either side of his first-half brace, Gyökeres was in position to set up Saka after a dart into the channel which proved to be fruitful.

LW: Leandro Trossard—8.6: It’s been a tricky 2026 for Trossard, who last scored a goal in December 2025, but this was a much better display, emboldened by the assist for Gyökeres’s second goal.

SUB: Noni Madueke (46’ for Saka)—6.3: Scurried around with far less impact than Saka.

SUB: Martín Zubimendi (64’ for Rice)—6.9

SUB: Gabriel Jesus (64’ for Gyökeres)—6.1

SUB: Max Dowman (78’ for Eze)—6.1

SUB: Cristhian Mosquera (83’ for White)—N/A

Subs not used: Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK), Piero Hincapié, Gabriel Martinelli, Christian Nørgaard.

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What These Ratings Tell Us

Lethal. pic.twitter.com/GV3jBdj5Cb

— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) May 2, 2026

• Gyökeres can still take advantage of open space. Few players in the Premier League benefit from the game not being level—and by definition more compact—than the bullocking forward. Once the stitching of the opposition has already been teased open, Gyökeres can thrive between the threads.
• This was Lewis-Skelly’s 42nd start for Arsenal. The previous 41 had all come at left back. Even when he had been due to start in midfield, an injury in the warmup for Calafiori shunted him back into defense. Given the chance to fulfil his favored position, Lewis-Skelly impressed with a display of caution spliced with a few moments of incision.

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The Numbers That Explain Arsenal’s Comfortable Win

Viktor Gyökeres bolstered his healthy goal tally. | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

• Gyökeres became the first Arsenal player to score 20 or more goals in their debut season for the club since Alexis Sánchez more than a decade ago. Despite racking up hist 21st soon after, there is a nagging sense that the Swede’s actual impact is masked by those flattering figures.
• This was an afternoon with one eye on Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal second leg against Atlético Madrid. Arteta made five changes to his starting XI—the most he has dared to deploy for a Premier League game after a European night since the knockout stages of the competition began—and was in a strong enough position to take off Saka and Rice.
• The shift in focus was palpable after the interval. Arsenal shut Fulham out in the first half, smothering their visitors with 14 shots to two (six vs. zero on target) while racking up an xG of 2.42 compared to 0.04. Yet, the Cottagers comfortably out-shot Arsenal in the second half—although without offering much penetration.

Statistics	Arsenal	Fulham
Possession	54%	46%
Expected Goals (xG)	2.97	0.43
Total Shots	18	10
Shots on Target	9	1
Big Chances	7	1
Passing Accuracy	89%	83%
Fouls Committed	7	12
Corners	3	4

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