Arsenal: "Cometh The Hour, Cometh Samir Nasri" As He Sends Gunners Top of EPL

Arsenal overcame their jittery home form as they earned a much-needed home victory against a doughty Fulham side, who kept fighting till the final whistle.

As Cesc Fabregas watched from the stands, Samir Nasri, who has been the best player of the season, scored a spectacular brace as Gunners moved top of the Premiership table with Chelsea, not able to emerge from their slump even with the return of Michael Essien and John Terry, managing only a draw at home against Everton.

Andrei Arshavin, who looks to be in much better shape than he was at the start of the season, was at the hub of most of the stacking play at the start of the game. He hit a strong volley and it was a good save from Mark Schwarzer that denied the opener. Arshavin created a decent chance for the onrushing Nasri but the France International could only toe-poke it wide of the post. But he made amends just moments later when he capitalised on another Arshavin through-ball and went past the challenges of two defenders to thump it confidently into the back of the net.

Arsenal's "soft-centre" was exposed as Fulham managed to get past the two defenders, who collided against each other to let Diomansy Kamara latch on to a good through ball from Clint Dempsey. Kamara confidently equalised for the Cottagers and the Gunners were left to rue their missed opportunities. He had another great chance but was denied by a good save by Lukasz Fabianski and the Gunners were glad to get to half-time with the scores level.

After the break, the Gunners looked a touch nervous before Arshavin jinked past two defenders to shoot at goal, which was again smartly saved by Schwarzer. The Gunners needed this win to stay on course in the title race and Wenger brought on Robin van Persie to replace the quiet Tomas Rosicky. 

Theo Walcott was also brought on and Nasri moved to the centre of the midfield which Wilshere had previously occupied. Van Persie was chasing long balls and had hardly had a touch before assisting Samir Nasri with a good through ball.

Nasri started the move by providing a good pass to Van Persie and the Dutchman cut inside the defender to make the space to shoot before providing a good through ball for Nasri who was making his way into the box. Nasri still had plenty to do as he went past the challenge of one defender and rounded the goalkeeper before steadying himself to score using his right leg. It was quite a brilliant goal and gave Arsenal the lead for the second time.

Arsenal managed to hold onto the lead and it was an excellent win for the Gunners, who will be happy to have started December on a positive note. Nasri has been the best player of the season and Arsenal need more men to step up to the mantle in this month with games against Chelsea and Manchester United coming up. Van Persie looked okay when he came on as a substitute and should receive his first start in the Premier League since August within the next few games.

The biggest positives from this match are the performances of Samir Nasri, Andrei Arshavin and Johan Djourou. Arshavin is much better now and looks sharp, providing good through balls to his team-mates. Nasri has been the saviour for Arsenal and it looked as though they might squander the advantage just like they did against Spurs when Nasri gave the lead. But Nasri had had enough of it and scored another blinder to wrap up the game.

Johan Djourou replaced the injured Koscielny in the first half and barring one incident, which let Kamara beat the offside trap, he was absolutely superb for the Gunners. Djourou is staking the claim for a regular first team spot even when Thomas Vermaelen returns from injury and with that kind of a performance, it will be hard for Wenger to ignore the Swiss defender.

Arsenal did not thrash their opponents and only just edged to a win but they will be buoyed by the fact that they are on the top of the table, even though they have lost thrice at home. Samir Nasri once again proved why he is a world class midfielder and scored a brace to save the Gunners and send them to the top of the table. Thierry Henry, who was watching from the stands, would have surely been pleased by his compatriot's dribbling and finishing skills. Wenger will know that there is still a long way to go in this season and with hard earned victories like this, they can go a long way in challenging for the title.