Arsenal Edge Out Chelsea, Fulham Beat Spurs

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Fulham beat Tottenham 2-0 on Sunday to end their quest for a spot in the Champions League next season after a toothless 1-0 defeat at Arsenal.

The only goal of the mediocre match at the Emirates came from Mikel Merino, who put Arsenal in command of the standings at the Emirates.

Due to illness, Chelsea meekly gave in to a crushing defeat in an effort to finish in the top four. They had to make up for the absence of Cole Palmer.

Arsenal’s Norwegian midfielder #08 Martin Odegaard (R) and Chelsea’s Ecuadorian midfielder #25 Moises Caicedo (C) square off against each other in the English Premier League game at the Emirates Stadium in London on March 16, 2025. (Photo by AFP’s BENJAMIN CREMEL)

The Blues are currently fourth, but they have five rivals in place of Enzo Maresca’s team, including Manchester City, fifth, and Aston Villa, ninth.

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Since Kai Havertz’s injury forced him to play a makeshift centre-forward role, Arsenal have struggled to score goals.

On 20 minutes, the Spanish international looped a header past Martin Odegaard’s delivery into the far post to claim the match winner.

Leandro Trossard (L) and Reece James (R) square off against Chelsea’s English defender during the English Premier League game between Arsenal and Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium in London on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Benjamin Cremel / AFP)

When David Raya fouled Marc Cucurella’s shot and it fell to the side, Chelsea barely faced threat, but they were nearly given a chance to return the favor.

Robert Sanchez’s excellent stop at the other end saw Merino’s best effort of the second half double Arsenal’s lead.

However, the game ended badly with little goalmouth action, as a weak performance by the Chelsea supporters won’t help at all.

Spurs’ European hangover, &nbsp

Tottenham won the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday against AZ Alkmaar, continuing their season without losing to a number of other Europeans who had hangovers at Craven Cottage.

As they move up to eighth place, four points off the top four, and three outside the top five, Marco Silva’s men are now in the Champions League race after winning the match against Fulham.

On March 16, 2025, during Fulham’s match against Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League, Andreas Pereira’s #18 Brazilian midfielder Andreas Pereira kicks off at Craven Cottage in London. (Photo by Ben Stansall / AFP)

Thanks to English teams’ outstanding performances in European competitions, a top-five finish almost certainly will help them place in Europe’s top club competition next season.

However, Spurs have struggled to carry the weight of their Premier League form on Thursday nights.

In the 10 league games that followed a midweek Europa League game, Ange Postecoglou’s team have only won three times.