LIVE: Arsenal vs Fulham – Premier League

There is a slight reshuffle of personnel from the side that faced Newcastle in a crucial 1-0 result.

Riccardo Calafiori returns to the starting lineup for the first time since April 7, in place of Piero Hincapie.

Martin Zubimendi and Martin Odegaard miss out, with Myles Lewis-Skelly and Leandro Trossard coming in.

Up front, Viktor Gyokeres and Bukayo Saka come in, with Kai Havertz and Noni Madueke making way.

Marco Silva’s Fulham. 🤍 pic.twitter.com/2c71Xq6ISH

— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) May 2, 2026

🔴 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 ⚪️

⚡️ Calafiori joins the defence
© Saka skippers the side
🪄 Eze providing the creativity

We know what to do, Gunners ✊

🤝 Presented by @deel

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 2, 2026

Former Tottenham winger Ryan Sessegnon could return from a knock sustained in Fulham’s last outing, but Alex Iwobi’s thigh problem means he will not face his former club.

Kenny Tete and Kevin remain confirmed absentees.

Fulham predicted starting lineup

Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Lukic; Wilson, Smith Rowe, Chukwueze; Jimenez

Kai Havertz and fellow forward Eze were injured in the Premier League win against Newcastle last week, but the latter shrugged off his knock to appear as a substitute against Atletico.

Jurrien Timber and Mikel Merino are both definite absentees through injury, but Riccardo Calafiori returned to the bench for the Champions League game in midweek and could be in line for a start.

Arsenal predicted starting lineup

Raya; Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Eze

Here is the final countdown for the season for both Arsenal and Man City:

26 days to define a season.

It's crunch time for @Arsenal and @ManCity 🔒 pic.twitter.com/iQIiSHv1Ge

— Premier League (@premierleague) April 29, 2026

For all the talk of ‌Arsenal having blown their Premier League title hopes after being reeled in by Manchester City, the truth is that come ⁠Saturday, they could have re-established ⁠a six-point lead to pile the pressure on Pep Guardiola’s side.

City’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on April 29 meant that, having trailed by 10 points a few weeks earlier, they were able to knock Mikel Arteta’s side ⁠off the summit for the first time since October.

Momentum appeared to have shifted completely, but the fixture schedule may have come to Arsenal’s rescue as they try to clinch a first English crown since 2004.

Julian Alvarez’s penalty secured Atletico Madrid a 1-1 draw against Arsenal in a nervy Champions League semifinal first-leg clash.

Viktor Gyokeres sent the Premier League leaders ahead from the spot just before the interval on Wednesday after he was fouled, but Alvarez followed suit 10 minutes into the second half after Ben White’s handball.

Arsenal were upset at a late penalty decision being overturned following a VAR review when David Hancko made contact with Eberechi Eze in the area.

“I’m extremely disappointed and annoyed,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told TNT Sports.

“It is against the rules. You can’t overturn that decision when you have to look at it 13 times,” which the ref allegedly did when viewing the replays.

“That cannot happen at this level.”

Click here to review our live coverage.

You can get involved in our live coverage via our poll on X, by letting us know what you think the outcome will be in the match between Arsenal and Fulham:

Table-topping Arsenal host Fulham at the Emirates in a London derby in the English Premier League. Who will win? Vote below 👇

⚽ LIVE updates: https://t.co/OTqts327pt

— AJE Sport (@AJE_Sport) May 2, 2026

Manchester United host old rivals Liverpool live on Al Jazeera on Sunday in a game that could prove crucial in the battle for Champions League qualification.

United have improved considerably ⁠under caretaker boss Michael Carrick, who took charge following Ruben Amorim’s dismissal.

They sit third in the table, three points ahead of Liverpool, and need two more points to secure a top-five finish and a spot among Europe’s elite next season.

Liverpool come into the match on the back of three successive Premier League wins.

Click here for our full preview.

Palestinian football federation president Jibril Rajoub refused to stand alongside Israel FA ⁠Vice-President Basim Sheikh ⁠Suliman in a heated moment at the 76th FIFA Congress on Thursday evening.

Both men were called to the stage by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, but Rajoub ⁠declined to be brought closer to Suliman, a Palestinian citizen of Israel.

Infantino put his hand on Rajoub’s arm and invited him with a gesture to come closer to Suliman, but in ⁠vain.

Asked what Rajoub said when he refused, Palestinian FA Vice President Susan Shalabi, who was in the room, told Reuters: “I cannot shake the hand of someone the Israelis have brought to whitewash their fascism and genocide! We are suffering”.

Infantino ‌then took the stage and said: “We will work together, President Rajoub, Vice President Suliman. Let’s work together to give hope to the children. These are complex matters.”

Speaking to the Reuters news agency after the congress ended, Shalabi said Infantino’s attempt to have Suliman and Rajoub shake hands showed little consideration for the Palestinian FA chief’s speech, in which he made yet another plea for Israeli clubs not to base teams in settlements in ⁠the occupied West Bank.

“To be put in a position ⁠where to have a handshake after everything that was said, this negates the whole purpose of the speech that the general [Rajoub] was giving,” she said.

The Gulf helped transform global sport through billions in investment. But as geopolitical tensions rise, is that era of rapid expansion coming to an end?

Al Jazeera’s Samantha Johnson looks at how geopolitics could impact the business of sport.

Hello, welcome and thanks for joining our live coverage of Arsenal against Fulham in the Premier League.

Having lost their near four-month stay the top of the table just over a week ago, the Gunners have the chance to move six points clear once again – should they win.

With second-placed Manchester City not in action until Monday, it offers an extraordinary option to the north Londoners – but a derby match can throw up any outcome on any given day.

Fulham also have their own eye on European qualification this season.

I’m Kevin Hand, and I’ll bring you the live build-up and photo coverage of the day, plus the news, analysis and opinion surrounding the game.

Rohan Sharma will bring you the team news as it lands and our comprehensive text commentary stream of the match.