Bukayo Saka stood with his arms outstretched and a wide, cheeky grin on his face as he took in the acclaim of the Arsenal fans.
It was like he’d never been away.
On his first appearance after more than three months out injured, the England winger scored what proved to be the clinching goal in a 2-1 win over Fulham as Arsenal trimmed the gap to Premier League leader Liverpool to nine points on Tuesday.
Saka — Arsenal's star player and easily its most popular — entered as a substitute in the 66th minute to a huge ovation after his long absence because of a serious hamstring problem. Within seven minutes, he was being cheered again after nodding home Arsenal's second at Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said the supporters' thunderous reception toward Saka showed how much “people love him and missed him.”
“He lifted the stadium,” Arteta said, while Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice welcomed back “one of the best wingers in the world.”
“He attacks the box and sniffs the goal,” Rice said. "With Bukayo back, it’s a real boost.”
Mikel Merino scored the 37th-minute opener for second-place Arsenal, which requires an unlikely collapse by Liverpool if the London club is to capture its first league title since 2004. Liverpool hosts Everton in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday, after which there are eight rounds left in the Premier League.
Arsenal stayed four points clear of third-place Nottingham Forest, which beat Manchester United 1-0 thanks to a brilliant solo goal by Anthony Elanga — a former United player — to close in on a remarkable qualification for the Champions League.
Forest, which was battling relegation last season, is 10 points clear of sixth-place Newcastle. The top five are likely to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Injury worry for Arsenal
Saka, who has been sidelined since sustaining his injury on Dec. 21 in a league match at Crystal Palace, is back in time to face Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals starting next week.
Whether Gabriel Magalhaes will be be available for Arsenal against the European champions remains to be seen. The Brazil center back went off with an apparent hamstring injury in the 16th minute against Fulham.
“I hope he’s OK because he’s been arguably our best player this season,” Rice said, "and we need him for big matches and big occasions.”
Rodrigo Muniz grabbed a stoppage-time consolation goal for Fulham.
Elanga’s wonder goal
Elanga showed Man United what it is missing with one of the goals of the season.
The Sweden winger got hold of possession 20 meters inside his own half in the fifth minute and set off on a run directly toward United’s goal, first shrugging off backtracking opponent Alejandro Garnacho and then entering the penalty area before shooting left-footed into the bottom corner.
Elanga, who left Malmo at age 11 to move to Manchester with his mother and sisters and was soon recommended to United, celebrated in muted fashion against the team that brought him into the pro ranks before selling him to Forest in 2023.
“I appreciate Manchester United so much as I learned a lot there,” Elanga said. “I am enjoying my football (at Forest) and I want to keep on going.”
Forest captain Ryan Yates said Elanga was a “dream” for his teammates.
“Especially us sitting in that low-block — you can give him the ball and he does the rest,” Yates said.
He is now a key player in Forest’s unlikely march toward Champions League qualification for the first time. It won’t be the team’s first time in Europe’s top competition, of course — Forest was famously the European Cup winner in 1979 and ’80 under Brian Clough.
United substitute Harry Maguire had an effort cleared off the line by Forest defender Murillo in one of the last kicks of the game in a dramatic finish at the City Ground.
United stayed marooned in 13th place in what is set to be its worst Premier League finish.
“We should have won this game, not even drawn,” said United manager Ruben Amorim, whose team had 24 shots, “but in the end we have lost three points.”
Wolves ease relegation concerns
In the night's other game, Wolverhampton beat West Ham 1-0 thanks to Jørgen Strand Larsen's 21st-minute goal to push further clear of relegation danger.
Wolves stayed in fourth-to-last place but moved 12 points clear of the bottom three.
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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Steve Douglas, The Associated Press
