Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta had a warning for Gabriel Jesus after his comeback against Fuham.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta insists Gabriel Jesus must earn his spot back in the team. The striker made his first Gunners appearance since November in Sunday’s win at Fulham.

Jesus came on with 13 minutes remaining at Craven Cottage. Arteta is delighted to have him back but insists he must fight for a place.

He said: “A big boost. It was the first step today. We didn’t know whether it was the right game but yesterday I looked him in his eyes and he said: ‘I am ready’. Now he needs to earn his place, like any other player.”

It was a comfortable afternoon for Arsenal as they extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table to five points. They thought they had opened the scoring through an Antonee Robinson own goal in the 16th minute.

However, Gabriel Martinelli was adjudged to have been offside in the build-up. But it wasn’t long before the Gunners were in front. Leandro Trossard’s corner was headed in by Gabriel for his third career goal against the Cottagers.

Trossard was the provider again, this time for Martinelli who was allowed too much time and space to head past Bernd Leno. Arteta’s side made it three just before the break, with some smart footwork from Martin Odegaard in the Fulham box before the Norwegian fired into the corner.

On the performance, Arteta said: “Really happy. It’s a really tough place to come and I think we dominate and kept a clean sheet. We won the game in a convincing way so I’m very happy.”