Bukayo Saka scored just seven minutes into his return after 100 days out injured to help Arsenal beat Fulham at Emirates Stadium.
The England forward came off the bench in the second half, with the score at 1-0, and showed Arsenal what they have missed during his absence, heading in Gabriel Martinelli’s flick at the far post on 73 minutes.
Mikel Merino had given the Gunners the lead in the 37th minute when his shot was deflected into the corner after Ethan Nwaneri’s cut-back.
Rodrigo Muniz pulled a goal back for Fulham in stoppage time when his shot was deflected by William Saliba and wrong-footed goalkeeper David Raya.
The win moved Arsenal to within nine points of runaway leaders.
It was a mixed night for the Gunners though who, despite the positive of having Saka back from his serious hamstring injury, lost centre-back Gabriel early in the first half, which is a worry for manager Mikel Arteta with a Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid next week.
Fulham defended deep throughout the match but should have pulled one back much earlier when substitute Muniz headed wide from six yards out with the goal gaping.
Arsenal takes on Everton on Saturday in the Premier League before preparing for the first leg of their quarter-final against Real at home on Tuesday.
All of the talk before the match was of Saka’s return after Arteta had said that the forward was ‘ready to go’ after his lengthy injury.
The Gunners have suffered without him in the side and their failings in attack are one of the reasons they have failed to keep touch with Liverpool in the title race.
In the 16 games that the 23-year-old was available in the Premier League for Arsenal, they scored 34 goals at a rate of 2.1 per game.
In the 13 that he missed, the Gunners scored 19 at a rate of 1.5 per match – highlighting Saka’s importance to the side.
His presence lifted the stadium and he received a standing ovation when he went out to warm up in the first half.
In the first half, Arsenal struggled to break down Fulham, the common story of their season with injuries to attackers Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus alongside Saka.
But Saka’s introduction was loudly cheered and the stadium erupted when he scored. the sight of him hitting his stride immediately is a welcome one for those Arsenal fans, with a big test to come against European champions Real.
Not enough from organised Fulham
Fulham came to the Emirates with a very clear gameplan to defend deep and restrict Arsenal to limited chances.
Manager Marco Silva made five changes to the team that lost 3-0 in the FA Cup quarter-final to Crystal Palace and changed formation to play with five at the back.
The plan almost worked as Arsenal, as they have all season with their injuries, struggled to create clear openings before Merino’s deflected shot gave them the breakthrough.
Fulham had good opportunities of their own as Raul Jimenez forced a good save from Raya and Muniz somehow missed before he eventually pulled one back
Silva cut a frustrated figure in his technical area and will be hoping that these two results do not derail the good work that Fulham have done up to this point.
