Saka scores in Arsenal win on return from injury. Forest beats United thanks to Elanga's wonder goal

Bukayo Saka stood with his arms outstretched and a wide, cheeky grin on his face as he took in the acclaim of the Arsenal fans.

It was like he’d never been away.

On his first appearance after more than three months out injured, the England winger scored what proved to be the clinching goal in a 2-1 win over Fulham as Arsenal trimmed the gap to Premier League leader Liverpool to nine points on Tuesday.

Saka — Arsenal's star player and easily its most popular — entered as a substitute in the 66th minute to a huge ovation after his long absence because of a serious hamstring problem. Within seven minutes, he was being cheered again after nodding home Arsenal's second at Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said the supporters' thunderous reception toward Saka showed how much “people love him and missed him.”

“He lifted the stadium,” Arteta said, while Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice welcomed back “one of the best wingers in the world.”

“He attacks the box and sniffs the goal,” Rice said. "With Bukayo back, it’s a real boost.”

Mikel Merino scored the 37th-minute opener for second-place Arsenal, which requires an unlikely collapse by Liverpool if the London club is to capture its first league title since 2004. Liverpool hosts Everton in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday, after which there are eight rounds left in the Premier League.

Arsenal stayed four points clear of third-place Nottingham Forest, which beat Manchester United 1-0 thanks to a brilliant solo goal by Anthony Elanga — a former United player — to close in on a remarkable qualification for the Champions League.

Forest, which was battling relegation last season, is 10 points clear of sixth-place Newcastle. The top five are likely to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Saka, who has been sidelined since sustaining his injury on Dec. 21 in a league match at Crystal Palace, is back in time to face Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals starting next week.

Whether Gabriel Magalhaes will be be available for Arsenal against the European champions remains to be seen. The Brazil center back went off with an apparent hamstring injury in the 16th minute against Fulham.

“I hope he’s OK because he’s been arguably our best player this season,” Rice said, "and we need him for big matches and big occasions.”

Rodrigo Muniz grabbed a stoppage-time consolation goal for Fulham.

Elanga showed Man United what it is missing with one of the goals of the season.

The Sweden winger got hold of possession 20 meters inside his own half in the fifth minute and set off on a run directly toward United’s goal, first shrugging off backtracking opponent Alejandro Garnacho and then entering the penalty area before shooting left-footed into the bottom corner.

Elanga, who left Malmo at age 11 to move to Manchester with his mother and sisters and was soon recommended to United, celebrated in muted fashion against the team that brought him into the pro ranks before selling him to Forest in 2023.

“I appreciate Manchester United so much as I learned a lot there,” Elanga said. “I am enjoying my football (at Forest) and I want to keep on going.”

Forest captain Ryan Yates said Elanga was a “dream” for his teammates.

“Especially us sitting in that low-block — you can give him the ball and he does the rest,” Yates said.

He is now a key player in Forest’s unlikely march toward Champions League qualification for the first time. It won’t be the team’s first time in Europe’s top competition, of course — Forest was famously the European Cup winner in 1979 and ’80 under Brian Clough.

United substitute Harry Maguire had an effort cleared off the line by Forest defender Murillo in one of the last kicks of the game in a dramatic finish at the City Ground.

United stayed marooned in 13th place in what is set to be its worst Premier League finish.

“We should have won this game, not even drawn,” said United manager Ruben Amorim, whose team had 24 shots, “but in the end we have lost three points.”

In the night's other game, Wolverhampton beat West Ham 1-0 thanks to Jørgen Strand Larsen's 21st-minute goal to push further clear of relegation danger.

Wolves stayed in fourth-to-last place but moved 12 points clear of the bottom three.

Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Arsenal's Bukayo Saka, right, celebrates with Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Fulham at Emirates stadium in London, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Arsenal's Bukayo Saka celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Fulham at Emirates stadium in London, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Arsenal's Gabriel receives medical treatment during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Fulham at Emirates stadium in London, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Jorgen Strand Larsen celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during their English Premier League soccer match against West Ham United at Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, England, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (David Davies/PA via AP)

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes during the English Premier League soccer match between Nottingham Forest and Manchester United at the City Ground, Nottingham, England, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)

Nottingham Forest's Anthony Elanga, center, scores the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Nottingham Forest and Manchester United at the City Ground, Nottingham, England, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)

Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta gives instructions to his players during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Fulham at Emirates stadium in London, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Arsenal's Mikel Merino celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Fulham at Emirates stadium in London, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Arsenal's Mikel Merino celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Fulham at Emirates stadium in London, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Arsenal's Bukayo Saka celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Fulham at Emirates stadium in London, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. flu infections showed signs of a slight decline last week, but health officials say it is not clear that this severe flu season has peaked.

New government data posted Friday — for flu activity through last week — showed declines in medical office visits due to flu-like illness and in the number of states reporting high flu activity.

However, some measures show this season is already surpassing the flu epidemic of last winter, one of the harshest in recent history. And experts believe there is more suffering ahead.

“This is going to be a long, hard flu season,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, in a statement Friday.

One type of flu virus, called A H3N2, historically has caused the most hospitalizations and deaths in older people. So far this season, that is the type most frequently reported. Even more concerning, more than 91% of the H3N2 infections analyzed were a new version — known as the subclade K variant — that differs from the strain in this year’s flu shots.

The last flu season saw the highest overall flu hospitalization rate since the H1N1 flu pandemic 15 years ago. And child flu deaths reached 289, the worst recorded for any U.S. flu season this century — including that H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic of 2009-2010.

So far this season, there have been at least 15 million flu illnesses and 180,000 hospitalizations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. It also estimates there have been 7,400 deaths, including the deaths of at least 17 children.

Last week, 44 states reported high flu activity, down slightly from the week before. However, flu deaths and hospitalizations rose.

Determining exactly how flu season is going can be particularly tricky around the holidays. Schools are closed, and many people are traveling. Some people may be less likely to see a doctor, deciding to just suffer at home. Others may be more likely to go.

Also, some seasons see a surge in cases, then a decline, and then a second surge.

For years, federal health officials joined doctors' groups in recommending that everyone 6 months and older get an annual influenza vaccine. The shots may not prevent all symptoms but can prevent many infections from becoming severe, experts say.

But federal health officials on Monday announced they will no longer recommend flu vaccinations for U.S. children, saying it is a decision parents and patients should make in consultation with their doctors.

“I can’t begin to express how concerned we are about the future health of the children in this country, who already have been unnecessarily dying from the flu — a vaccine preventable disease,” said Michele Slafkosky, executive director of an advocacy organization called Families Fighting Flu.

“Now, with added confusion for parents and health care providers about childhood vaccines, I fear that flu seasons to come could be even more deadly for our youngest and most vulnerable," she said in a statement.

Flu is just one of a group of viruses that tend to strike more often in the winter. Hospitalizations from COVID-19 and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, also have been rising in recent weeks — though were not diagnosed nearly as often as flu infections, according to other federal data.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

FILE - Pharmacy manager Aylen Amestoy administers a patient with a seasonal flu vaccine at a CVS Pharmacy in Miami, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)