Odegaard hails ‘amazing’ Trossard as Gunners crush Fulham to make history
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard praised Leandro Trossard’s “amazing” impact since signing for the club after the Belgium attacker became the first player in top-flight history to assist a hat-trick of away goals before half-time in a crushing 3-0 win at Fulham.
January addition Trossard set up headers by Gabriel and Gabriel Martinelli and Odegaard’s strike in added time, shining in a masterful first-half performance that restored Arsenal’s five-point lead at the top of the Premier League as Gabriel Jesus made his long-awaited return from a knee injury.
“I love to play with him,” Odegaard said of the £27m ($32.5m) arrival from Brighton & Hove Albion, speaking to Sky Sports. “He has brought some amazing things to the team.
“He’s always looking to find the right pass. I kept my composure and put my shot in the corner. We’re really happy to have him in the team.”
Odegaard hails ‘amazing’ Trossard as Gunners crush Fulham to make history
Fulham vs. Arsenal final score
| 1H | 2H | Final | |
| Fulham | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arsenal | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Goals:
ARS – Gabriel (21st min)
ARS – Gabriel Martinelli (26th min)
ARS – Martin Odegaard (45th min+2)
Lineups:
Fulham starting XI (4-2-3-1): Leno (GK) — Tete, Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson – Reed, Lukic – De Cordova-Reid, Pereira, Solomon – Mitrovic.
Fulham subs: Rodak (GK), Wickens, Wilson, James, Vinicius, Diop, Francois, Harris, Robinson.
Arsenal starting XI (4-3-3): Ramsdale (GK) — White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko – Odegaard, Partey, Xhaka – Saka, Trossard, Martinelli.
Arsenal subs: Turner (GK), Tierney, Jesus, Smith Rowe, Holding, Tomiyasu, Jorginho, Vieira, Nelson.
The victory means Arsenal are the first Premier League team ever to win five successive away London derbies while keeping clean sheets and restores the cushion they began the weekend with above Manchester City.
Antonee Robinson’s own-goal was ruled out because Martinelli was offside in an early warning for Fulham, who failed to have a shot on target during the first period but produced an improved second-half showing and hit the crossbar through Aleksandar Mitrovic’s header.
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Gabriel nodded the visitors ahead from the latest of a spate of Trossard corners after 21 minutes, with Martinelli afforded ample space inside the penalty area to follow suit from a cross from the same left flank five minutes later.
Odegaard added the third by capitalising on slack marking from Fulham, who fell to a second successive defeat and remain eighth in the table.
Capital gains for Arsenal
Erling Haaland’s late penalty to give Manchester City victory at Crystal Palace on Saturday had increased the pressure on an Arsenal squad involved in an exciting 2-2 draw at Sporting CP in Portugal in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.
Any concerns about playing again so soon after their return from Lisbon were soon extinguished in nonchalant style by Arteta’s side.
Arteta was helped by his ability to make a smattering of rotations to his starting line-up, including the return of Aaron Ramsdale.
Usually a reliable presence, the goalkeeper created his own problems when he gifted Andreas Pereira the chance to shoot over from a tight angle, summing up the surprising lack of threat posed by a Fulham team entering the game on a run of one defeat in eight home games in all competitions.
Robinson had already given Arsenal the chance to create danger with a clumsy foul on Bukayo Saka by the time the defender turned the ball into his own net, unable to readjust quickly enough after a blistering Martinelli run ended in goalkeeper Bernd Leno parrying the Brazil international’s shot.
While Gabriel’s header for the opener was one directed from the slightest of space amid a crowded penalty area, Martinelli’s for the second was a product of meek resistance from Robinson as part of a parade of generous defending from Fulham.
As had been the case for several of Arsenal’s attacks, Odegaard looked like he was taking part in a training ground exercise when he collected Trossard’s pass, toyed with the Fulham players ahead of him and picked his spot in the corner of Leno’s net to all-but put the result beyond doubt.
Arsenal have won those five London away games by an aggregate scoreline of 11-0. There were reminders of their 3-0 stroll at Brentford in September here, when two goals inside the first 29 minutes served to stop any momentum their potentially dangerous opponents wanted to build.
Jesus ends injury nightmare
Arsenal fans so often had cause to celebrate their three Gabriels during their excellent start to the season, with one of Jesus’ five goals coming in that win at Brentford.
The World Cup that had been billed as a chance to prove himself for his national team became a nightmare for the striker, his club and his country when the man who had been a symbol of Arsenal’s transformation suffered a knee injury in a group stage defeat to Cameroon on December 2.
There were obvious concerns from those supporters that Arsenal would struggle when the Premier League returned without the player Arteta signed from City for £45m ($55m) during the close season.
Those fears proved unfounded and it will now be their rivals worrying about the addition of Jesus to a squad who have netted in 11 of their 13 league games since the break, scoring at least three times in four of their last five matches in the division.
Two of Arsenal’s three defeats in 2023 have come against City, with a Saka penalty their only goal in those games.
By the time they travel to City on April 26 for a game that looks increasingly like it could be crucial in the title race, Jesus will be back in contention to start and, Arsenal will hope, inflict more damage on the reigning champions than they did during those meetings.
“It’s a massive boost,” Odegaard told Sky when he was asked about Jesus’ 77th-minute return in place of Trossard.
“We know what he’s going to give to the team. We’re very excited to have him back – very, very happy.”
