- Date:2008-08-23
- Kick-off:17:30
- Venue:Craven Cottage
- Attendance:25276
- Referee:Atkinson, M
Live Commentary
90mins
Fulham nick it for a famous and improbable victory.
90mins
Two minutes into stoppage time and Arsenal have another free kick but again Van Persie hits the wall.
90mins
Four minutes added on, Fulham can see the finish line but Arsenal are throwing everything forward.
89mins
Adebayor tries to win a penalty but his dive doesn't convince the referee.
88mins
Van Persie's free kick hits the wall allowing Fulham to hit them on the break, Dempsey takes too long on the ball though and Arsenal regain posession.
88mins
Andranik Teimourian booked for a foul on Eboue, Arsenal free kick to be taken by Van Persie.
87mins
Arsenal with a lot of the ball but Fulham aren't giving much away, an Arsenal corner is dealt with by the Fulham defence.
85mins
Adebayor shoots after being set up by Clichy but Schwarzer makes a fine stop.
84mins
Fulham under the kosh a bit as Nasri then Denilson have a go but Fulham survive unscathed.
82mins
Danny Murphy makes way for Andranik Teimourian who joined Fulham from Bolton over the summer.
80mins
Arsenal seeing most of the ball, expect a nervy finish for Fulham as they look to seal a famous victory over their more prestigous London neighbours.
78mins
Nicklas Bendtner flicks the ball on butJohn Paintsil clears for Fulham who has looked good on his home debut since his switch from West Ham
76mins
Clint Dempsey replaces Ki-Hyeon Seol for Fulham while Kolo Toure makes way for Alexandre Song Bilong for Arsenal
74mins
Chris Baird replaces Toni Kallio for Fulham.
72mins
Van Persie hits a free kick at the Fulham goal but it hits the wall and goes out for a corner, he takes the corner himself and after an initial panic Fulham clear the ball.
71mins
Danny Murphy booked after a foul on Eboue, free kick for the gunners just outside the Fulham box.
69mins
Could have been one all but Van Persie blasts it over from the edge of the box with his left foot.
66mins
Zamora gets the ball with his back to goal and decides to set up Davies on the edge of the box but he smashes his shot over the Arsenal bar.
65mins
Nicklas Bendtner replaces Theo Walcott, Wenger looking to mix things up and Walcott has been quiet since the break.
64mins
Ki-Hyeon caught offside when he thought he was through on goal.
64mins
Arsenal seeing a lot more of the ball but just unable to produce anything that's going to trouble the Fulham defence.
62mins
Toure blasts a shot from over 30 yards out, it goes harmlessly wide. Arsenal seem to be running out of ideas and it would have to be a ridiculous strike from that range to beat Schwarzer.
61mins
Adebayor hits a wild shot way off-target. Arsenal just don't look capable of beating Fulham here today.
59mins
Dare I say it? Fulham with an Arsenal-esque counter attack, Murphy plays in Ki-Hyeon who sqaures it to Zamora but he blasts the shot just over the bar.
56mins
A bit of route one from Fulham. Schwarzer hits a big one up to Zamora, Arsenal get the ball away but it was far from comfortable for the gunners.
54mins
Arsenal work the ball forward but Denilson wastes possesion and puts the ball out of play, Arsenal just not the same team without Fabregas.
52mins
Nice work from Nasri as he takes the ball off John Paintsil but Danny Murphy is there to disposses the Frenchman
49mins
Finally a bit of vintage Arsenal passing but Fulham cut out the move, a bit more urgency from the Gunners.
48mins
Clichy's low cross meets Adebayor but his shot is blocked by Hangeland, the ball comes back to Adebayor and this time it's Paintsil who makes the block.
46mins
No changes for either side, perhaps a surprise for Arsenal as they looked like they needed to make a change. Then again question Wenger at your peril!
45mins
Fulham get the second half underway. They'll be hopeing to keep hold of this lead but I'm sure a very different Arsenal will turn up for this second half.
45mins
Half time at Craven Cottage and Fulham lead one nil. The home side by far the better team and Arsenal look weak and poor in possesion.
45mins
Arsenal corner, taken by Van Persie but its taken short and they don't even get the cross in.
45mins
Two extra minutes to play and Fulham are happy to keep the ball and go into half time one up.
44mins
Van Persie fires a free kick from 25 yards out, he makes a hash of it much to the delight of the home crowd.
41mins
Fulham winning the midfield battle at the moment and you'd be forgiven for thinking its the home team who are the potential title challengers, Arsenal look weak and sloppy.
40mins
Bullard plays in Zamora but the striker fails to make the most of the opportunity and the ball goes out for a goal kick to Arsenal.
38mins
Fulham winning the majority of the 50/50's here and it looks like Arsenal will need to change something to get anything out of this contest.
38mins
Van Persie takes a shot from outside the Fulham box but goal hero Brede Hangeland makes a good block.
36mins
Walcott has a go from outside the Fulham box but he can't keep it down and the ball whistles over the Fulham bar.
35mins
Zoltan Gera could have made it two for Fulham after the ball comes to him on the edge of the Arsenal penalty area but he misses the ball and hits fresh air, the Hungarian won't be happy with that.
33mins
A Fulham free kick is cleared by Arsenal, it's certainly not an easy game for the gunners and Fulham have looked the better of the two sides.
32mins
Zamora somehow finds himself in possesion free of the Arsenal defence, but Gallas gets back quickly and Zamora hits a weak shot that Almunia gathers easily. He looks low on confidence Zamora.
31mins
It's all been a bit stop start over the last ten minutes or so, this hasn't helped Arsenal much and the Fulham faithful are cheering every time their team touch the ball.
28mins
Ky-Hyeon (Fulham) and Sagna (Arsenal) both injured, they both look fit to carry on though.
26mins
A dangerous cross from Clichy but unfortunately for Arsenal it's Theo Walcott who is best placed to attack it and Fulham clear.
25mins
Denilson looks to feed in Adebayor but the striker is caught offside.
22mins
Nearly an instant reply for Arsenal. Adebayor meets Sagna's cross with his head but he hits the post, very unlucky for the big striker.
21mins
Arsenal concede a corner which Bullard takes. The ball drops to Hangeland who pokes it into the net with what could be his studs. Arsenal are left to rue Van Persie's miss.
20mins
Great chance for Arsenal, Walcott plays in Nasri who twists and sets up Van Perside but the Ducthman's shot is just wide.
19mins
Fulham move forward through Zamora but some good defending from Sagna puts an end to the move.
18mins
A fairly even encounter so far, both sides willing to go forward and I'd say Arsenal looking the slightly better of the two sides so far.
14mins
Murphy volleys the ball over the Arsenal cross bar. An early warning for the gunners that Fulham are here to play.
12mins
Van Persie plays in Adebayor who creates space with a lovely first touch but he shoots just wide from 25 yards out.
11mins
Zamora caught offside when he thought he was through on goal, it's the correct decision from the linesman.
10mins
Zamora tries to feed in Davies but Clichy makes a smart interception for Arsenal.
9mins
First real chance for Arsenal, Walcott is fed in by Van Persie who's cross eventually goes for a corner. Van Persie takes but Gallas heads it right to Mark Schwarzer in the Fulham goal.
8mins
Early opportunity for Fulham, Zamora gets the ball in a good place but his cross-come-shot is poor.
6mins
Arsenal work the ball forward and Sagna sends in a cross from the right but it's a poor one and Fulham clear.
3mins
Fulham move forward through Jimmy Bullard but a foul is called as Theo Walcott goes down. Fulham don't look over-awed by their North London opponents and we could have a good game here.
2mins
Arsenal break down the left but John Paintsil hoofs it away for Fulham.
0mins
Arsenal get us underway for todays late kick off at Craven Cottage.
0mins
Awaiting kick off at Craven Cottage, Fulham will be looking for a strong performance after last weeks disappointing loss to Hull while Arsenal will have three points in mind at their London rivals.
Match Preview
Arsenal will be sweating on the fitness of their international stars ahead of their second Premier League match of the season, away to fellow Londoners Fulham.
Most of the Gunners' first-team squad have been away all week, heavily involved in a busy round of international friendly matches.
Midfielder Samir Nasri pulled out of the France squad before their match against Sweden on Wednesday with a thigh problem with an injury that could leave him sidelined this weekend.
Another international not involved this week was the Spaniard Cesc Fabregas, who has a hamstring muscle problem that will almost certainly force him to sit out the clash with Fulham.
He and Kolo Toure were unfit to start last weekend when the Gunners beat West Brom 1-0 and manager Arsene Wenger has spoken of his confidence in their young replacements to step in and perform.
"Not only do we make results but we develop players as well - they can only develop if they play," Wenger explained after Saturday's match.
"It's a tricky situation. People want to see big names and they want to see good young players as well. You always want a player like Fabregas to be in there because he gives you the quality of the pass."
With Abou Diaby and Tomas Rosicky out for another month on top of Eduardo's long-term injury, Wenger's young stars such as Denilson, Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott will be heavily used in the opening part of this season.
All three could play against Fulham, with Ramsey likely to start if Nasri fails to recover in time, leaving goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski as the only substitute over the age of 18.
Aaron Hughes and Andy Johnson are both likely to miss out again through injury, so Leon Andreasen is a likely starter in defence while Seol Ki-Hyeon and Bobby Zamora could continue to attack.
Seol was signed as a winger from Reading last summer but he partnered Zamora last weekend when Fulham were beaten 2-1 by Hull City, yet the South Korean is just happy to be involved after a quiet 2007/08 season.
"I will do what the manager wants me to do," he said. "I played most of my career as a winger, but I have played as a striker before.
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Match Report
Brede Hangeland capped a fabulous personal fortnight as his solitary goal handed Fulham only their second victory over Arsenal in the Premier League.
Hangeland, who was appointed Norway captain earlier this month, prodded home the only goal of a fractious London derby which did little to dispel the doubters who believe Arsenal will fail to mount a serious bid to Manchester United and Chelsea's supremacy.
It was a measure of Fulham's early authority that it took Arsenal 12 minutes to fashion a chance of note with Emmanuel Adebayor fizzing a shot wide from 20 yards having been slid in by Robin van Persie.
Arsenal should have taken the lead seven minutes later when Theo Walcott's cross was miscued into van Persie's path by Samir Nasri, but the Dutch international fired wide of the near post with his usually reliable left foot.
And his error was punished within a minute as Arsenal's inability to deal with set-pieces reared its familiar head.
Jimmy Bullard fired over a corner from the left and Hangeland stole in unmarked to prod home his first goal in English football.
Arsene Wenger's side roared back up the other end and were unlucky not to draw level when Adebayor comprehensively beat Mark Schwarzer with a powerful header, but the outside of the post came to Fulham's rescue.
That effort aside, Arsenal were wretched, bereft of ideas, lacking in leadership and particularly the direction so regularly supplied by Cesc Fabregas, whose immanent return from a hamstring strain can't come soon enough.
The malaise lasted well into the second half, with Fabregas' Brazilian understudy Denilson out-manoeuvred by two Englishmen in Bullard and Danny Murphy.
Bobby Zamora had the chance to kill the game on the hour mark but could not divert Ki-Hyeon Seol's cross into the top corner from eight yards.
Van Persie cracked a shot wide from the edge of the penalty area with Schwarzer struggling and Nasri has a shot blocked by John Paintsil from point blank range as Arsenal belatedly cranked up the pressure.
But an equaliser failed to materialise leaving Wenger with much to ponder and one would have thought much business to conclude before the transfer window slams shut in just over a week's time.
Fulham Team
Arsenal Team
Fulham | Arsenal |
Corners
| 1 | 5 |
Fouls
| 14 | 6 |
Goal attempts
| 5 | 15 |
Shots off target
| 3 | 8 |
Offsides
| 7 | 2 |



90mins
Schwarzer rises highest to claim a ball looped into the Fulham area, Arsenal running out of time here.