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Mikel Arteta hopes that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will finally hand over his future to Arsenal in the coming days, after the Gabon forward’s magnificent goal capped off Saturday’s 3-0 win in Fulham.
Arteta’s team kicked off the new Premier League season with the kind of show of confidence that has become his hallmark since taking over Arsenal.
Arsenal’s fluid attack was too incisive for the promoted Fulham and Alexandre Lacazette gave the visitors an early lead at Craven Cottage.
See: Lacazette scores the first goal of the Premier League season
Brazilian defender Gabriel Magalhaes scored Arsenal’s second after the break in his first appearance since signing from Lille in the final season.
See: Aubameyang makes Arsenal 3-0
Aubameyang added the final flourish with a typically flashy punch that emphasized why Arsenal are so desperate for the club captain to sign a contract extension that expires at the end of the season.
Gunners boss Arteta had good news for fans concerned that Aubameyang might leave, as he revealed that his team talisman is ready to sign the contract offer.
“I am really confident that we will achieve it very soon and I hope that in the next few days you will receive some news,” Arteta told BT Sport.
With former Chelsea winger Willian providing a pair of assists on his debut, it was the ideal way for Arsenal to kick off a season that seems full of promise after last season’s FA Cup triumph.
Although his eighth place in the Premier League ranked him as Arsenal’s lowest finishing position since 1995, Arteta had little to do with it after taking command in December following the dismal reign of Unai Emery.
The former Manchester City assistant coach has been a much-needed breath of fresh air for Arsenal and pushing for a place in the top four shouldn’t be beyond his revitalized squad this season.
“I wanted to see my team determined to get into this difficult terrain against a really good team that has been promoted. We had a lot of energy and we did the things that we train in this period, ”said Arteta.
“Gabriel did not play for six months until today. Mohamed Elneny was brilliant. He has been excellent in training. All the guys tried really hard. “
While the continued absence of fans due to the coronavirus and the shorter than usual break have taken some anticipation from the new campaign, Arsenal were more willing than most to get back into action after beating Chelsea in the FA Cup final.
The Gunners had underscored their rapid improvement by defeating Premier League champion Liverpool on penalties at the Community Shield last month and Fulham was no match for them.
Crumbling fulham
The only dark cloud for Arteta was a pre-match dispute between Dani Ceballos and Eddie Nketiah.
The pair had to be separated by Arsenal teammates after Nketiah reacted to an aggressive challenge from Ceballos as a group of players exchanged passes in warm-up.
Arteta’s concerns were calmed when Lacazette scored in the ninth minute.
Granit Xhaka’s shot forced a failed punt from Tim Ream and Willian lunged with a shot from close range that Fulham goalkeeper Marek Rodak could only push past Lacazette, who scored virtually from the goal line.
Willian was denied a debut goal when his low free kick struck the base of the post.
Gabriel was enjoying a serene debut and the 22-year-old proved he can also be a goal threat when he doubled Arsenal’s lead in the 49th minute.
Willian stepped over the corner and Gabriel showed his desire as he soared above Michael Hector for a header attempt that hit his shoulder as he crashed into the net.
Fulham’s defense was crumbling as the recently demolished Craven Cottage stand and Aubameyang finished them off in the 57th minute with a carbon copy of his Community Shield goal against Liverpool.
As at Wembley, Willian’s superb cross pass caught Aubameyang and he was allowed to rush out of control into the box before rounding a fine shot to the far corner.
© Agence France-Presse
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