Perhaps Arsenal never actually did have a chance. Perhaps Erling Haaland hitting 50 goals by April and Manchester City bursting past the Gunners on the home straight was as inevitable as the sun rising in the morning.
It feels as though it would take a changing of the winds unexplainable by the laws of nature for the new Premier League leaders to stumble now, such has been Arsenal’s recent plight. Kevin De Bruyne was left out with a niggle, and his replacement Julian Alvarez scored a goal-of-the-month contender in his absence. Perhaps that says it all about Pep Guardiola’s unstoppable juggernaut of a team.
When facing City, just as important as what you do in your five days of preparation is that you don’t give away a penalty in the second minute. Marco Silva will have felt the apoplexy pumping through his veins as he watched Tim Ream dangle out a lazy leg, Alvarez tumble, and referee Simon Hooper point to the spot without even feigning hesitation.
As the Fulham players protested beside him, Haaland hovered around the penalty spot, ball in hand, optimising his processing speed, rebooting. Then he wound up towards the ball and swung it into the corner with venom. 50 for the season, for City’s video-game striker.
Until the quarter of an hour mark, the visitors toyed with Fulham, creating openings, dictating play, and causing some of the home fans simply to chuckle at the fact that their side were just as much spectators as they were.
That said, counter-attack proficiently, and just sometimes you can hurt the best team in the land. Fulham did through Joao Palhinha’s long ball forward, Harry Wilson’s knock-down header and Carlos Vinicius’s thumping volley, and sure enough they were level. “Well, well, well”, remarked one Fulham fan.
After a spell of Fulham pluck and then a long stoppage while Ream was treated and then subbed for what looked like a broken wrist, City began to exert their class once more. Haaland fed Jack Grealish, whose shot was destined for the top corner if not for Bernd Leno’s heroic full-stretch save.
De Bruyne was deemed “not fully fit” after inspiring City to victory over Arsenal in Wednesday’s critical match, so he didn’t travel down from Manchester. But injure one, and another will deputise and score a beaut. That is the inevitability of Manchester City, the sheer depth of their squad telling. Alvarez bent a fabulous shot that curled away from Leno and landed in the top corner. Not by any goalkeeper anywhere could it have been prevented.
Haaland and Alvarez were electric all afternoon, and both would have had their second goals of the game without crucial interventions from Leno early in the second half.
Fulham had already lost Ream to injury, but soon another man was off for the Cottagers — and in even more devastating circumstances. Andreas Pereira has been an inspired signing this season, but he landed horribly after an aerial challenge with Manuel Akanji. Pereira — his right leg fully enveloped in a brace — was eventually stretchered off, with Tom Cairney his replacement.
As Kenny Tete argued against the linesman’s decision to hand City rather than Fulham a throw-in, Haaland lay his arm round the Dutchman’s shoulder like a condescending older brother. City may not have been enjoying a sizable lead, but, as it so often does, their game management would see them through.
They wound down the tempo, passed vacuously between themselves, and soon the final whistle told them they were top of the League. They will surely stay there.
