London: Arsenal went top of the Premier League on Saturday after beating Fulham 2-1, thanks to two stunning individual goals by Samir Nasri.
The France playmaker, enjoying his best run of form for the London club, scored a superb winner in the 75th minute to lift the Gunners to 32 points and above Manchester United, whose match at Blackpool was postponed because of a frozen pitch.
Chelsea, which started the day in second place, would have stayed ahead of Arsenal if it had beaten Everton at Stamford Bridge but only drew 1-1 and fell to third.
Nasri put the hosts ahead in the 14th by running onto Andrey Arshavin's pass, dummying past two defenders and rifling a shot into the roof of the net.
Senegal striker Diomansy Kamara equalised for Fulham in the 30th but Nasri's eighth of the campaign — and 11th of the season in all competitions — won it for Arsenal.
The midfielder has been given added responsibility this season because of the ongoing injury problems affecting Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal's captain and most inspirational player.
But Nasri has come of age this season, his third at Emirates Stadium following a move from Marseille, and has been the club's most impressive player in the first half of the campaign.
His opening goal was a perfect demonstration of how confident he is feeling.
He dropped his shoulder to fool Fulham center backs Aaron Hughes and Brede Hangeland before slamming a powerful shot past Mark Schwarzer, a goalkeeper Arsenal tried to sign last summer.
Arshavin, who assisted Nasri for the opener and was playing two days after being a key figure in helping Russia win the right to host the World Cup in 2018, had already had a shot saved by Schwarzer.
Striker Marouane Chamakh and defensive midfielder Alex Song also wasted chances for Arsenal, which conceded against the run of play when United States midfielder Clint Dempsey laid in Kamara to sidefoot home past Lukasz Fabianski.
In the run-up to that goal, Laurent Koscielny clashed heads with fellow center back Sebastien Squillaci and had to be carried off on a stretcher.
Morocco striker Chamakh headed straight at Schwarzer before the break but Fulham, whose poor run of results away from home shows no sign of ending, came back into the game in the second half.
Dickson Etuhu headed wide when free before Zoltan Gera's header was cleared off the line in the 70th.
But Nasri brought Arsenal back into the game with an exquisite winner after the hosts had brought on substitutes Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott.
Van Persie squared the ball to Nasri, who showed sublime skills to go round Schwarzer, spin and shoot home from a tight angle to send Arsenal top.
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