If Arsenal are to keep their chances of claiming a first PL title in over two decades alive, they can afford no more slip-ups as they looked to overturn a 12-point swing to leaders Liverpool prior to kick-off, and the Gunners showed their intent right from the off.
Following the opening exchanges, the home side began to turn the screw as Gabriel Martinelli showed a burst of pace to race down the left before his cutback was sent high and wide by Thomas Partey.
Mikel Arteta’s men were then dealt a blow on the quarter-hour mark when Gabriel Magalhaes was forced off with a suspected hamstring injury.
However, the disappointment of Gabriel’s injury was soon forgotten when Bukayo Saka rose from the bench to begin warming up, with Arsenal’s talisman returning to the matchday squad for the first time since his injury in December.
The contest subsequently appeared to be petering out with little quality on show, but the hosts managed to find the breakthrough shortly before HT through their makeshift striker, Mikel Merino.
Ethan Nwaneri was released down the right before picking out the Spaniard, who took a touch before firing a deflected effort into the far corner, wrong-footing Bernd Leno in the process.
Fulham struggled to make their mark in the opening 45 minutes, with Marco Silva’s men failing to register a shot on target.
Arsenal began the second half in the same manner as the first, targeting the flanks, with Martinelli cutting back for Martin Odegaard, only for the captain to blaze high and wide.
Silva’s men finally troubled David Raya for the first time within 10 minutes of the restart, but Raul Jimenez’s shot was parried away by the Spaniard.
Jurriën Timber was next to go close, after playing a neat one-two with Ødegaard before the Dutchman saw his shot saved at the near post by Leno.
The home fans were on their feet with around an hour on the clock as Saka came on to make his first appearance of the year.
And the Englishman made an immediate impact, doubling Arsenal’s lead. Merino’s cross into the box was flicked to the far post by Martinelli, where Saka was free to nod in.
Silva made changes in an attempt to fashion a response, and Rodrigo Muniz almost made a decisive contribution too, but the Brazilian somehow headed wide from six yards out.
In the end, Arsenal saw out the final minutes with little trouble and claimed a first H2H victory in four meetings, earning an 18th clean sheet of the season across all competitions in the process.
Following their FA Cup exit on the weekend, Fulham’s remaining goal is their pursuit of a place in Europe, with the West Londoners sitting two points behind sixth-placed Newcastle United.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal)