ARTETA WELCOMES HEADACHE AS JESUS MAKES HIS RETURN

WHEN Gabriel Jesus suffered a knee injury at the World Cup, it was feared Arsenal’s title challenge would go off the rails.

- Simon Collings

Fulham 0

Arsenal 3 Gabriel 21, Martinelli 26, Odegaard 45

But the Brazilian has returned with the team in the same position as when he left.

Arsenal were five points clear of Manchester City at the top when Jesus was ruled out for three months, and they restored that lead by beating Fulham 3-0 yesterday.

Jesus looked sharp and went close to scoring when he came on for the final 13 minutes at Craven Cottage, but Mikel Arteta has warned he faces a fight to get back into the team.

Arsenal have excelled in Jesus’s absence. Initially, Eddie Nketiah stepped up with six goals in as many games. More recently, Leandro Trossard has taken centre stage and shown why the Gunners paid £26m to sign him from Brighton in January.