Saka brings house down but Gabriel's injury casts shadow

The Arsenal fans had come to see Bukayo Saka and when he took off his tracksuit, primed to enter as a 66th-minute substitute, red shirt vividly lighting the scene, it is fair to say there was a reaction.

- David Hytner

The Arsenal fans had come to see Bukayo Saka and when he took off his tracksuit, primed to enter as a 66th-minute substitute, red shirt vividly lighting the scene, it is fair to say there was a reaction. It was mainly a release. The three months without Saka have been hard, Arsenal's Premier League title challenge slipping away.

There was certainly a script there to be written and, Saka being Saka, he grabbed the pen and set to work. Arsenal have an incredible home record in the league against Fulham - 24 wins, seven draws and no defeats before this. They were on their way to another victory thanks to a Mikel Merino goal on 37 minutes, the latest return from the club's makeshift No 9.

Saka would bring the house down. It was Gabriel Martinelli, so fast and purposeful throughout, who ignited the move and when he got the ball back from Merino, the flick was improvised but made to measure for you-know-who. Saka's header was true. He made a beeline for his strength and conditioning coach in the celebrations. Welcome back, Bukayo. And just in time for the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.