Fulham 0 Arsenal 1: Van Persie scores but stand-in keeper is the saviour

27 September 2009 00:34
Only time will tell if this was a pivotal victory for Arsenal. It was certainly an undeserved one. [LNB]Although Robin van Persie scored the crucial goal, third choice goalkeeper Vito Mannone was by far the man of the match, keeping a vibrant Fulham team at bay in the first half, then ensuring his side somehow escaped with all three points when they might have had none. [LNB]Victory took Arsenal up to fifth place as the top of the table compressed following Chelsea's defeat. Winning games when you deserve to draw, if not lose, is what champions do, but much of Arsenal's performance was not.[LNB] [LNB] Arsenal's Robin van Persie, lower left, is mobbed by teammates Nicklas Bendtner, lower right, and Cesc Fabregas, top, as he celebrates his goal against Fulham[LNB] If Van Persie had not taken advantage of Arsenal's only dominant spell of the match early in the second half and, more importantly, if Mannone had not been a one-man obstacle for the impressive home team, things would look very different this morning. [LNB]'I believe you would give him 10 out of 10,' said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger of his goalkeeper, who was in the team only because Manuel Almunia is recovering from a chest infection and Lukasz Fabianski has a knee injury. [LNB]'He kept us in the game in some unbelievable situations. Everything he did was right. He stopped everything he had to stop and didn't make any wrong decisions.'[LNB] Confirmation of Chelsea's defeat had been greeted with glee by both sets of fans, but the big question was whether Arsenal would flourish or wilt given the unexpected opportunity to close the gap to the leaders. [LNB][LNB] [LNB] Scorer: Robin van Persie prepares to shoot and score against Fulham[LNB]For the first half, it was very much the latter. Mannone made his first two saves in quick succession in the 15th minute, diving to keep out Andrew Johnson's header and leaping to his feet quickly enough to earn the good fortune which saw Clint Dempsey's follow-up hit him on the head. [LNB]Fulham were much the better team, passing slickly and nipping into tackles, and were denied again when Mannone saved substitute Zoltan Gera's shot in the 36th minute.[LNB] Arsenal, often criticised for being all foreplay and no fulfilment, were struggling to even reach first base. When they did create openings, Cesc Fabregas and Andrey Arshavin, both off-key, shot well over the bar.[LNB] After half-time Arsenal played at least 10 yards further up the pitch and had their reward when Paul Konchesky was guilty of one of the very few misplaced Fulham passes. [LNB]Fabregas lifted a weighted ball into the path of Van Persie's diagonal run and the Dutchman needed just two touches - one to take it away from his feet and the other to slide it across Mark Schwarzer and into the side-netting. [LNB] Hotshot: Arsenal's Tomas Rosicky (left) glides past John Paintsil[LNB]The game could have been over three minutes later, but Schwarzer saved well from Nicklas Bendtner and what had always been a diverting match became a compelling one. [LNB]The teams traded chances, Mannone keeping out another Johnson header, Bendtner shooting just wide and Dempsey seeing his deflected shot skim the post. But as Arsenal's second-half energy faded, only Mannone stood between Fulham and their richly-deserved equaliser. [LNB]  He denied Johnson for the third time with a smart stop at his right-hand post and when Zamora seemed certain to head home Konchesky's free kick, once more the Italian somehow kept the ball out. [LNB]Martin Atkinson, the referee whose timekeeping gave Michael Owen the chance to win the Manchester derby for United, granted Fulham five additional minutes to score the goal they merited but, fortunately for Arsenal, it was not enough.[LNB] For Fulham manager Roy Hodgson, talk of how well his team had played was just 'balm to the wound'. He added: 'I don't think we could have played much better. I don't know if we played better than that when we beat them 1-0 here last year. I doubt it, frankly.' [LNB]After consecutive away defeats in games in Manchester, Wenger probably felt entitled to an undeserved win. 'I'm very optimistic about this team because what I've seen today means there's something in the team that shows we can go from strength to strength,' he said. That remains to be seen.[LNB] [LNB]  Wigan 3 Chelsea 1: Joy for Latics as Blues lose their 100 per cent record and knocked off top spotLiverpool 6 Hull City 1: Brown on the brink as Torres torments TigersStoke 0 Manchester United 2: Timeless Giggs inspires United to top spot [LNB]  Explore more:People:Paul Konchesky, Andrey Arshavin, Michael Owen, Cesc Fabregas, Nicklas Bendtner, Arsene Wenger, Martin Atkinson, Robin van Persie, Andrew JohnsonPlaces:Manchester

Source: Daily_Mail