Arsenal trash Fulham 3 – 1

Lukas Podolski claimed a
brace as Arsenal kicked their Premier
League campaign into gear on Saturday
with a 3-1 win over Fulham at a sodden
Craven Cottage.
Arsene Wenger’s side were beaten at home
by Aston Villa on the season’s opening day,
but they beat Fenerbahce 3-0 in mid-week
in the first leg of their Champions League
play-off and carried that momentum into
Saturday’s game.
Heavy downpours in west London made for
a saturated playing surface, but it did not
stop Arsenal taking the lead in the 14
minute when Olivier Giroud gathered a low
shot from Aaron Ramsey and stabbed the
ball past Fulham goalkeeper David Stockdale.
Podolski made it 2-0 four minutes before
half-time when he side-footed home after
Stockdale saved from Theo Walcott, and the
Germany forward sealed victory in the 68th
minute by gathering a pass from Santi
Cazorla and arrowing a shot into the
bottom-right corner.
Darren Bent pulled one back for the hosts in
the 77th minute, tapping in a low cross
from Dimitar Berbatov to mark his debut
with a goal following his loan move from
Villa.
“It’s never easy to play way or win away and
we did it in a convincing way,” Arsenal
manager Wenger told BT Sport.
“We had a disappointing result against Villa
and it was important to respond, and we’ve
had two convincing wins, first against
Fenerbahce and again today here.”
Roberto Martinez will experience his first
competitive home game as Everton manager
later on Saturday when his new side
welcome West Bromwich Albion to
Goodison Park.
West Brom striker Nicolas Anelka will not
feature after he was granted compassionate
leave following the death of his close friend,
the agent Eric Manasse.
Newcastle United will attempt to bounce
back from their 4-0 thrashing at Manchester
City when they take on West Ham United,
while the late game sees Villa tackle
Liverpool at Villa Park.
On Sunday, City visit Cardiff City and
Tottenham Hotspur host Swansea City,
before the first major head-to-head meeting
of the campaign on Monday, when Jose
Mourinho’s Chelsea travel to champions
Manchester United.

Source: vanguard

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