<p>Bukayo Saka marked his return from a lengthy injury absence with a goal as Arsenal beat Fulham 2-1 on Tuesday to cut the gap on Premier League leaders <a href="https://mid-day.com/sports/football/article/real-madrid-may-strike-deal-with-liverpools-trent-soon-23506807" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"><strong>Liverpool</strong></a> to nine points.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Saka came off the bench to head in on his first appearance since December 21, after Mikel Merino&rsquo;s deflected effort had given Arsenal a first-half lead.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;It was a good opportunity to see how much people love him and missed him,&rdquo; said Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on Saka&rsquo;s ovation before he even stepped foot back on the field. &ldquo;The reception he got was magnificent. It&rsquo;s great to have him back,&rdquo; he added.</p>
<h2>Muniz nets for Fulham</h2>
<p>Rodrigo Muniz pulled a goal back for the Cottagers in stoppage time. However, victory came at a cost for the Gunners as key defenders Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber were forced off due to injuries.</p>
<p><strong>Also Read:&nbsp;</strong><strong><a href="https://mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/hay-shines-as-nz-beat-pakistan-to-seal-odi-series-23511877" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Hay shines as NZ beat Pakistan to seal ODI series</a></strong></p>
<p>Losing both defenders would be a massive blow for <a href="https://mid-day.com/sports/football/article/arsenal-rally-to-beat-real-madrid-23508205" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"><strong>Arsenal</strong></a>&rsquo;s Champions League quarter-final first leg fixture against Real Madrid next week. The Gunners had already lost left-back Riccardo Calafiori to a knee injury during the international break, while right-back Ben White succumbed to a minor injury in the same area in training prior to the Fulham game.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Arteta still managed to see the silver lining. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s what it is. We&rsquo;ve lost four players in the defensive line in one week &mdash; Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White, Timber and Magalhaes. [But] We have still another four that are willing to do the job. We want it [to beat Real Madrid] so much that we&rsquo;re going to give it a real go and we are very excited for next week,&rdquo; said Arteta.</p>
<p>At the very least, Saka&rsquo;s return to fitness will give Arteta&rsquo;s side a much needed boost as they enter the business end of the season.</p>
<h2>Merino impresses again</h2>
<p>Additionally, Mikel Merino continued to impress in his new position as a false-nine, scoring in back to back games with Arteta having been forced to deploy the midfielder in an attacking role to cover for the injury-enforced absence of strikers Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.</p>
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Bukayo strikes as Arsenal beat Fulham 2-1; boss Arteta hopes to trump Madrid in UCL next week

Gunners eye Real deal as Saka’s back with a bang!

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Gunners eye Real deal as Saka’s back with a bang!

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