𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Some decent early possession from the visitors in the opening stages. They advance to the edge of the Arsenal box but are forced backwards, though they’re recycling possession well so far.

It is indeed a back five for Fulham when out of possession, as they look to nullify Arsenal’s attacking threat.

We’re underway at the Emirates!

Both sides are in the tunnel at the Emirates, so we’re around five minutes from kick-off.

Some news from the Premier League ahead of kick-off…

Semi-automated offsides will be introduced in Premier League matches for the latter stages of the current season, the league has revealed.

The technology was originally intended to be introduced after one of the autumn international breaks in October or November.

It was notably debuted in English football during the FA Cup fifth round at the start of March, featuring in seven of the eight ties being played.

There’s one more match on today in the Premier League, before a Merseyside derby tomorrow and another London derby on Thursday. Below is a full list of the midweek matches:

Wolves vs West Ham (7.45pm)

Nottingham Forest vs Man Utd (8pm)

Manchester City vs Leicester City (7.45pm)

Southampton vs Crystal Palace (7.45pm)

Bournemouth vs Ipswich (7.45pm)

Brighton vs Aston Villa (7.45pm)

Liverpool vs Everton (8pm)

Chelsea vs Tottenham (8pm)

Though many will claim that Arsenal’s title challenge has already failed, the Gunners are still about to enter a decisive point in their 24/25 season.

Perhaps more importantly than the Premier League, Mikel Arteta’s side have their Champions League quarter-final coming up against Real Madrid, with the first leg taking place a week today at the Emirates, before the return leg at the Bernabeu on 16 April.

If they were to progress from that round, they would face the winner of the tie between PSG and Aston Villa in the semi-finals.

And that may well be on Arteta’s mind as he tries to navigate the remaining nine Premier League fixtures, with his side still 12 points behind Liverpool.

While the title and relegation spots are very close to being set in stone, there’s plenty to play for in the European places.

With the top five almost guaranteed Champions League football, there’s even more to play for than usual between second and eighth.

At present, Chelsea and Manchester City occupy fourth and fifth, though the Blues are only fiver points ahead of 10th-placed Bournemouth.

Here is how the table looks with nine games to go:

6th – Newcastle – 47pts (with game in hand)

9th – Aston Villa – 45pts

10th – Bournemouth – 44pts

Fulham have won five of their last eight Premier League games (L3), more than their previous 15 beforehand (W4 D7 L4). Away from home, the Cottagers have won three of their last four league matches.

Arsenal’s Premier League games this season are averaging 23.6 shots per match (13.9 for, 9.7 against), the lowest of any side in the competition this term. Meanwhile, Fulham rank fourth-lowest for this at 24.7.

However, the Gunners have restricted their opponents to less than 0.50 xG in 11 of their 29 Premier League games this season.

There was a strange feeling around some Premier League training grounds on Monday, especially for the modern game. It was one of refreshment. The sun was out for a lot of teams, and many players haven’t had a game for two and a half weeks. It represents the longest break the Premier League has had since the summer.

Such a gap would normally bring the same sense of refreshment to the actual games, but then this is also a strange time for the Premier League as a whole. Normally so used to being the biggest show around, “the world’s best league” last weekend witnessed the FA Cup bringing some actual storylines back to a relatively drab season.

That was something else that fed into the feeling at some training grounds this week. There is a sense of a season winding down, rather than building to a crescendo.