Fulham 0-3 Arsenal: Gabriel & Willian impress on debut in Gunners win

Debutants Gabriel and Willian impressed as Arsenal blew away promoted Fulham within the opening recreation of the Premier League season.

Former Chelsea winger Willian had a hand in all three targets and Gabriel - a £23m signing from Lille - scored in his first recreation in English soccer.

Arsenal had been extremely spectacular, whereas Fulham triggered themselves too many issues on the again.

Each side have performed and gained at Wembley - twice for the Gunners - within the 48 days for the reason that final Premier League season completed.

Alexandre Lacazette scored the opener from shut vary after Willian's effort was saved.

Centre-back Gabriel then scored from Willian's nook together with his shoulder. Willian, who additionally hit a put up from a free-kick, picked out Pierre-Emerick Aubamayeng with an ideal cross-field ball and the captain curled house Arsenal's third.

Fulham created few probabilities, with final season's prime scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic approaching with solely 27 minutes to go and forcing Bernd Leno right into a save.

Michael Hector takes a knee — Gamers from either side took a knee earlier than kick-off in continued help of the Black Lives Matter motion

Slick Arsenal catch the attention

There have been indicators of enchancment beneath boss Mikel Arteta final season, with Arsenal displaying a brand new defensive solidity and searching assured going ahead.

They gained the FA Cup ultimate and Group Defend - in opposition to Chelsea and Liverpool respectively - at both finish of August.

Regardless of a pre-season break of lower than a month, they're in fine condition if this efficiency is something to return.

Arsenal substitutes Dani Ceballos and Eddie Nketiah clashed twice within the pre-match warm-up over a coaching drill, however there was complete concord among the many 11 gamers who began.

Fulham had little reply to Arteta's techniques. Ainsley Maitland-Niles was nominally a left wing-back however spent a variety of his recreation in midfield, with central defender Kieran Tierney taking part in nearly as a left-back.

Mohamed Elneny and Granit Xhaka, whose Arsenal careers seemed over final season, had stable performances in midfield.

Leno began in objective, with Emiliano Martinez, who ended final season as primary with Leno injured, reportedly set for a transfer away.

For the fourth season in a row it took lower than 10 minutes for the opening objective of a Premier League season, with Lacazette turning into the primary participant to attain the primary objective in two completely different seasons. He made no mistake from shut vary after Marek Rodak parried Willian's shot.

The dominant Gunners ought to have been additional clear at half-time, with Willian placing the bottom of a put up with a tremendous free-kick.

The second half adopted the identical sample and Arsenal made the sport secure.

Gabriel turned the third Arsenal defender to attain on his Premier League debut as he turned house Willian's nook. He tried to move the ball nevertheless it went in by way of his shoulder. The brand new legal guidelines this season say if the ball hits the world the place a T-shirt sleeve can be, that it isn't handball.

Aubameyang scored the choose of the targets with a trademark curling effort from one other Willian move.

Willian is the primary participant to help two targets on his Premier League debut for Arsenal since Ray Parlour in August 1992 in opposition to Liverpool.

Arsenal may have scored extra in the event that they wanted, however this shall be precisely what Arteta, whose job title modified from head coach to supervisor this week, needed to see.

Have Fulham discovered from previous errors?

Fulham had been relegated in every of their previous two Premier League seasons, in 2013-14 and 2018-19 - conceding probably the most targets within the league each instances.

The final time they had been promoted they spent greater than £100m and performed a new-look crew in a depressing season.

However this time boss Scott Parker began with 10 of the 11 gamers who beat Brentford within the Championship play-off ultimate on 4 August, with no new signings getting on to the pitch.

Mitrovic, who was not absolutely match for his or her Wembley win after scoring 26 targets, was on the bench once more.

Fulham will hope not a lot of their video games are as powerful as taking part in in-form Arsenal, however there have been indicators this could possibly be one other leaky season on the again.

The opening objective got here from their very own mistake. Tim Ream blocked a Xhaka shot and will have cleared it, however he let Willian take the ball and shoot, resulting in Lacazette's objective.

One try to play out from the again led to Elneny having a shot blocked and Xhaka taking pictures over.

There was little to get enthusiastic about on the different finish, with two pictures on the right track and each from exterior the field - Denis Odoi after seven minutes and Mitrovic after 67.

There are choices, then, for Fulham and Parker on whether or not to stay with the strategy that received them promoted.

Extra to comply with.

Line-ups

Fulham

12Rodák
4Odoi
3HectorBooked at 26mins
13Ream
23Bryan
21Reed
10CairneyBooked at 61mins
7KebanoSubstituted forZambo Anguissaat 63'minutes
25OnomahSubstituted forDe Cordova-Reidat 75'minutes
17Cavaleiro
47KamaraSubstituted forMitrovicat 63'minutes

Substitutes

1Areola
9Mitrovic
11Knockaert
14De Cordova-Reid
20Le Marchand
22Christie
29Zambo Anguissa

Arsenal

1Leno
16Holding
6dos Santos Magalhães
3Tierney
2BellerínBooked at 55mins
25Elneny
34XhakaSubstituted forCeballosat 79'minutes
15Maitland-Niles
12WillianSubstituted forPépéat 76'minutes
9LacazetteSubstituted forNketiahat 87'minutes
14AubameyangBooked at 39mins

Substitutes

7Saka
8Ceballos
19Pépé
28Willock
30Nketiah
31Kolasinac
33Macey

Fulham 0-3 Arsenal: Gabriel & Willian impress on debut in Gunners win

Slick Arsenal catch the attention

Have Fulham discovered from previous errors?

Line-ups

Fulham

Substitutes

Arsenal

Substitutes

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