Arsenal delivered a straight-forward 2-1 win over Fulham on Tuesday, keeping their dim Premier League title hopes alive but suffering a potentially-costly injury to their Champions League hopes.
The Emirates Stadium saw goals from Mikel Merino and a returning Bukayo Saka off the bench, but an apparent hamstring injury to star defender Gabriel Magalhaes could affect their hopes of beating Real Madrid in the upcoming UEFA Champions League quarterfinal round.
WATCH –Arsenal v Fulham full match replay
Jurrien Timber picked up a knock early and played through it before subbing off late in another defender injury for Arteta to monitor moving forward.
Fulham missed one big chance in the second half but otherwise struggled to generate much of anything before Rodrigo Muniz scored in the fourth of six minutes stoppage time.
Arsenal pull within nine points of first-place Liverpool before the Reds play Wednesday. Fulham's 45 points climb above ninth-place Aston Villa for the moment.
How to watch Arsenal vs Fulham live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 2:45pm ET Tuesday (April 1)
Venue: Emirates Stadium — London
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming: Premier League on Peacock
Arsenal vs Fulham final score: 2-1
Mikel Merino 38', Bukayo Saka 73', Rodriugo Muniz 90+4'
Arsenal vs Fulham live updates — By Nick Mendola
Rodrigo Muniz goal — Arsenal 2-1 Fulham (90+4')
Not done yet!
Rodrigo Muniz skewers golden chance
What a chipped pass from a driving Alex Iwobi, who puts his teammate Rodrigo Muniz dead center for an open headed goal.
Muniz drops the header wide of the far post. Unreal miss.
2-0 Arsenal, 81'.
Bukayo Saka goal! Arsenal 2-0 Fulham (73rd minute)
He's back on the score sheet as well as the pitch, and it's straight-forward.
Lots of good stuff from Gabriel Martinelli, who could use a goal himself but will take this.
The Brazilian comes down the left and lays off for Merino, who slides to cross the ball toward the near post.
Martinelli leaps and his touch turns it to the back post, where Saka nods over the line.
Bukayo Saka makes his return
The England star returns after a three-month absence, a smile on his face as he takes the place of Nwaneri, who assisted Merino's goal.
Still 1-0 Arsenal, 66'.
Halftime — Arsenal 1-0 Fulham
The Gunners deserve their lead, though of course the game is far from settled and Gabriel's injury continues to loom over the scoreboard.
Fulham have only managed 0.03 xG and a single shot. Andreas Pereira, Alex Iwobi, Willian, and Rodrigo Muniz must be itching to get on the pitch.
Arsenal's front three have been bright but will certainly feel like they could've grabbed a second goal and made halftime a bit more comfortable.
Mikel Merino goal — Arsenal 1-0 Fulham (38th minute)
It's a deflected strike, but Arsenal's makeshift striker won't care one bit.
Timber releases Ethan Nwaneri into the right side of the box, and the youngster's cutback finds Merino.
The Spaniard gets his sixth of the Premier League season ...
