The Gunners bounced back from their heavy defeat against Liverpool to go within two points of fourth-place Chelsea in the Premier League
Arsenal manager Unai Emery felt his side were deserving of their 4-1 victory against Fulham, despite enduring some nervy moments in the New Year’s Day win at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners gave a fine response to their hefty 5-1 defeat at the hands of Liverpool on Saturday, with the win closing the gap on fourth-place Chelsea to two points in the Premier League.
They did however struggle to nullify their visitors throughout though, with Ryan Sessegnon missing two excellent opportunities before Granit Xhaka opened the scoring in the 25th minute.
Alexandre Lacazette doubled the lead but Claudio Ranieri’s side hit back through Aboubakar Kamara after 69 minutes, forcing Arsenal to weather a shaky period before easing clear with two late goals.
“We wanted to win and this result will give confidence,” Emery told BBC Sport after the game. “We continued to push and create chances and we can be happy.
“It is normal for the fans to have some doubt at 2-1, but the team continued to do their work and played our planned game.
“I thought we deserved the scoreline. We scored with different players and we can continue to build our identity with the players.”
Aaron Ramsey converted a rebound after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had hit the post to make it 3-1, while the latter rounded out the scoring with a deflected strike to take his tally in the league this season to 14.
Midfielder Xhaka was pleased to help his side return to winning ways, particularly with London derbies against West Ham and Chelsea to come over the next few weeks.
“After a bad game against Liverpool, we want to show a good game and to improve,” the Switzerland international said.
Article continues below
“Fulham have a new coach and a good team. We were a bit nervous at 2-1, but 4-1 makes us happy.
“We can learn a lot from the game against Liverpool – they are a good team this year – but we have West Ham away and then Chelsea at home which is a tough schedule.”
The Gunners next travel to Blackpool in the FA Cup this weekend.
Be the first to comment