Arsenal expose Liverpool and avoid their Suarez meltdown moment as Gyokeres comes of age | OneFootball

If not for The Slip, it would be the defining image of the definitive Nearly Season: the tears of Luis Suarez; the impotent fury of Steven Gerrard; the inevitability and irresistibility of Dwight Gayle.

A desolate Brendan Rodgers admitted “the excitement and enthusiasm to try and claw back the goal difference overtook us”.

Liverpool, with two games remaining, were level on points at the top but nine goals behind Manchester City. After going 3-0 up away at Crystal Palace within 55 minutes, the manager “sensed we were trying to chase” more than just a win to keep Manuel Pellegrini’s side honest.

It backfired somewhat. Liverpool summarily failed to extend their lead, then had it obliterated by three Palace goals in the final 11 minutes. Manchester City might well have won their final two games regardless, but the removal of goal difference from the equation certainly simplified their task.

The thought of a similar collapse would likely never have crossed anyone’s mind at the Emirates on Saturday evening. Arsenal are far better defensively and far more serious a team under far more competent a manager, with Fulham far more pliable an opponent.

Arsenal were on the longest run of never losing to one opponent in home league games in the history of English football; they still are. They were 3-0 up in stoppage time of a dominant first half, and remained as such by full time.

Two factors were most crucial: the continued development of Viktor Gyokeres into the centre-forward Arsenal assumed they had signed last summer; and the deployment of Myles Lewis-Skelly for the first time from the start in his natural position.

With his left-back battle lost, this was a timely reminder of his midfield background. He thrived as a stand-in for Martin Zubimendi and should be considered a permanent option in the role going forward.

It is a potential Arsenal career renaissance the level and unpredictability of which only Gyokeres can compete with. The striker scored twice, set one up and became the first Arsenal player to reach 20 goals or more in his debut season since Alexis Sanchez.

That granted Arsenal a three-goal half-time lead they were content to stick with instead of twisting. On his first start in 41 days, Bukayo Saka lasted only 45 minutes; it was all he needed to dismantle Raul Jimenez’s ankles to assist the Gyokeres opener, before firing inside Bernd Leno’s near post when the Swede returned the favour.

His absence in the Bournemouth and Manchester City defeats was critical, and his presence here was pivotal.

It seemed like Arsenal were preparing for a sprint finish along a tightrope with a series of season-closing 1-0 victories but this was a statement win the calibre of which might help carry them through the final few games. Their lead is restored to six points, the goal difference advantage is four, and focus can switch back to a Champions League semi-final.

They might not feel like it all that often in the moment but these are halcyon days for Arsenal, who know that three points in each match from here on out is the bottom line. Any improvement to their goal difference is a welcome bonus, but resisting the desire to “chase” and overextend is the mark of a grown-up title challenger.