Fulham v Arsenal | Craven Cottage | Saturday 12th September 2020 | 12.30pm | #FULARS
The opposition
- It may be the start of the season but Arsenal can already consider themselves to be in good form, having picked up two trophies in August. They started the month with an impressive performance to come from behind to defeat Chelsea in the FA Cup Final, before seeing off Premier League champions Liverpool on penalties in the Community Shield a couple of weeks ago.
- The free signing of Willian from London rivals Chelsea was the Gunners’ first big bit of business over the summer, and they’ve since bolstered their defence with the arrival of Lille’s highly rated Brazilian centre-back Gabriel. Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos has also had his loan spell extended for a second season.
- Some technical news coming out of the Emirates ahead of Saturday was a change in job title for Mikel Arteta. Originally appointed as Head Coach, he now occupies the role of First Team Manager.
Fulham team news
Scott Parker has confirmed that he has an injury-free squad, but will need to assess players’ fitness ahead of Saturday.
Arsenal team news
A neck injury has ruled David Luiz out of contention, while Pablo Mari, Gabriel Martinelli, Emile Smith-Rowe, Calum Chambers, Sokratis and Shkodran Mutafi also miss out. One big decision for Arteta will be in goal, where he can either stick with Emiliano Martinez or recall Bernd Leno.
Coverage
#FULARS is the first match of the 2020/21 Premier League season, and fans can watch it live on BT Sport. Live commentary from Gentleman Jim and Jamie Reid will also be available to fans who have a seasonal or monthly FFCtv subscription. (Please note that you must be logged into your OneFulham account to access this). Fans can listen via fulhamfc.com on mobile or laptop/desktop, while iPhone users can access via the FFCtv App.
Pre-match quotes
"Mikel’s done a fantastic job in a short space of time with his team, so I think this year’s a big year for Arsenal. The quality in their ranks is vast, and you’ve seen that in the last few months, and when they won the FA Cup as well."
Scott Parker
Fulham Head Coach
"The team is a good reflection of the coach. He's a very thorough person with a very committed team with a very clear way of playing. He's done a fantastic job at Fulham, the way they managed to get promoted last season was really good."
Mikel Arteta
Arsenal Manager