3 things from Fulham win Arteta must adopt for run-in

I don’t know about you, but that performance against Fulham felt a bit cleansing. Too many games have been hard work in 2026, and with such a busy week for the club, the Gunners delivered a heart-rate-reducing cleanse at just the right time.

So what can be learned from the performance and adopted into the final 4 or 5 games left this season?

Love him or loathe him, the reality is Viktor Gyokeres has been fit and available for 90% of the season. The same cannot be said for Kai Havertz (out for 90%) and Gabriel Jesus looks miles off the level required. Viktor needs to spearhead the Arsenal attack in these last few games, and to get the best out of him, you need to create the right environment.

He’s scored 21 goals in all competitions and 14 in the Premier League. That’s a very solid return from a player who has been dubbed by many as a flop and an awkward fit. On Saturday, it really clicked, and if Arsenal can replicate that for the rest of the season, the Gunners are in business.

In many games, Mikel has not done that; a front three of Gabriel Martinelli, Noni Madueke and Gyokeres has looked really poor on numerous occasions. It lacks ball retention qualities to enable chance creation - to create sustained pressure and allow teammates to get close to Viktor.

Against Fulham, it was, in my opinion, the perfect three behind him. Flanked by Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka, two technically sound players who like the ball to feet. This allowed Gyokeres to be an outball running into the channels, rather than as a target man centrally. It was this channel running which led to the Saka goal, assisted by Gyokeres. He nearly got another assist against Atletico Madrid, making a very similar run, but Martin Odegaard was unable to convert.

Viktor is elite in his attacking instincts and runs, but he’s pretty poor at holding it up back to goal - particularly against strong Premier League central defenders. Therefore, when he does receive it centrally, he needs a number 10 close to him, and Ebere Eze is of that ilk, much more than an Odegaard, for example.

Gyokeres scored two open-play goals and could have had four, with two more good opportunities saved. Yes, Fulham weren’t the strongest opposition on the day, but in many games this season, Viktor has struggled to even get a shot on target away - it could not have been more different against Fulham and the players around him were a big reason why.

For these final games, I would always try to create a similar environment - that means Saka starting on the right, or in his absence, I’d select Max Dowman ahead of Madueke if Saka isn’t available. On the left, Trossard, or Eze. Centrally, Eze, or Odegaard. Save Martinelli and Madueke for impact off the bench.

I’ve been one of those banging the drum for Myles Lewis-Skelly to come into midfield for a while. I thought the signing of Piero Hincapie would see him shift primarily to midfield. Back in the summer, I even suggested that Cristian Norgaard was not required, as Myles was capable of filling those midfield minutes.

For whatever reason, it hasn’t happened until now. Finally, Mikel looked at an incredibly jaded pairing of Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi and knew something had to change. He doesn’t trust Norgaard to start in the league, and that meant continuing to play Zubimendi, whose performance level was really dropping off as his fatigue came in.

We do need to remember Myles is just 19. He broke into the team probably earlier than expected due to a spate of left-back injuries last season. He was incredible and then regressed a bit. His body is changing too - it feels to me that now is the time to make midfield his primary position.

He will have tougher tests than Fulham, of course, and there are things to his game he will need to improve, but I see too many ingredients of a top central midfielder to ignore developing him into that role now.

I loved the way he sped the play up in the Fulham game, bombastic in the duels, two-touch in the passing, forward wherever possible. He paired really well with Declan, using each other in the pivot to progress up the pitch with pace, rather than totter nervously on it. Arsenal have often shied away from central combination midfield play, instead channelling it to wide areas by default, but in this game Rice and Myles combined for 17 passes - all short passes in central areas, often in the opposition half.

For a long time, Arsenal have struggled to find the right rhythm and combinations on the left-hand side of the pitch. I think what is clear in the last few games is that we can see a couple of pairings that do work. Eze and Piero Hincapie have looked good together at Manchester City and Atletico - two tough away games. At Fulham, Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori brought out the best in each other.

Arsenal were playing the best football of their season earlier this campaign when it was Calafiori and Trossard together. They seem to understand each other really well. Leo had been well below par in the last few months, but on Saturday, he was great, 6/7 take-ons, 2 big chances created and an assist. Calafiori was unlucky not to score two headers - one ruled out for offside and the other tipped onto the bar.

The Italian’s quality, when fully fit, is there for all to see. He can cause chaos going forward, allowing more room for Leo to free roam from the left. If we can do one thing this summer, I’d find the best expert in the land to injury-proof Calafiori, because I genuinely think he has the potential to be the best footballer at this club and can play in several positions - he has it all.

There could be a big change in the summer in this area of the pitch, but for what’s left of this season, I would focus on leaning into these combinations.