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  • van Persie (84 pen), Hleb (90)
  • Healy (1)
  • Date:2007-08-12
  • Kick-off:12:00
  • Venue:Emirates Stadium
  • Attendance:60093
  • Referee:Dowd, P

Live Commentary

90mins

Arsenal snatch a victory with two goals in the last ten minutes, finally breaking a resilient Fulham side who looked like they might just hang on.

90mins

Alexandre Song Bilong comes on for van Persie in the dieing seconds.

90mins

Fabregas unleashes Walcott down the right hand side and the English winger gets through on goal but can't convert the chance lofting the ball high over the bar.

90mins

Bouba Diop gets through the Arsenal defence and fires in a great looking shot forcing Lehmann into a great save, some what reprieving himself from his earlier mistake.

89mins

Hleb gives Arsenal a late lead after latching on to Fabregas pass, the midfielder turned Bocanegra before side-footing the ball past Warner.

88mins

Bendtner turns the Fulham defence well before unleashing a powerful shot towards goal but again Warner is there to make another great save.

86mins

Bendtner has a chance with a header but the Danish striker can't get enough power on it to beat Warner.

82mins

Flamini also goes into the book after getting a little too over exaggerated in his protests.

82mins

Papa Bouba Diop is booked for the same offence as Warner after runnig away with the ball.

82mins

Warner is booked after hloding onto the ball and not releasing it to restart the game.

82mins

Van Persie scores from the spot hammering it home high into the top right hand corner of the net.

81mins

Toure goes on a powerful run and gets into the penalty area where he is bowled over by Bocanegra and Phil Dowd points to the spot.

77mins

McBride picks out Dempsey inside the Arsenal penalty area and the American pokes it past Lehmann but see's his effort roll just wide of the goal.

75mins

van Persie tries a shot from the edge of the area but its a weak effort and Warner is able to gather with ease.

74mins

A goal mouth scramble presents Arsenal with a couple of chance, firstly Hleb forces Warner into another decent save before Walcott see's his effort blocked by a couple of white shirts.

73mins

Diomansy Kamara is booked after failing to retreat the full ten yards for an Arsenal freekick.

71mins

Again Fulham respond with a change of their own, bringing on Papa Bouba Diop for Alexei Smertin.

71mins

Arsenal making their second change with Nicklas Bendtner coming on for Tomas Rosicky.

71mins

Walcott shows his great pace getting away from Konchesky and whips in a cross but Knight is again in place to deal with the cross.

68mins

Fabregas delivers another corner but again it fails to find a red shirt, this time Warner punching the ball away.

67mins

Fabregas floats in another Arsenal corner but Fulham deal with it, Knight heading the ball away.

65mins

van Persie curls the ball around the wall and looks to have the beating of Warner but its just too high as another chance goes to waste.

64mins

Davis goes into the book after catching van Persie on the edge of the penalty area.

61mins

Fulham respond to Arsenal's change with Diomansy Kamara making his debut coming on for David Healy.

61mins

Arsenal make their first change of the game with Theo Walcott coming on for Emmanuel Eboue.

60mins

van Persie manages to knock the ball on for Rosicky who strikes it well but a deflection off Knight saves Fulham from conceding the equaliser.

59mins

van Persie tries to strike a free kick under the wall but makes a real mess of the shot as it bounces off the wall and away for a throw-in.

57mins

Carlos Bocanegra is booked after pulling down Hleb.

54mins

Davies finds McBride with the corner and the American pokes the ball onto Bocanegra but the defender can't convert the chance at the far post as Arsenal survive a scare.

52mins

Davis whips in a cross towards the far post but Lehmann reads the cross well to claim the ball with a good catch.

49mins

Rosicky slides another pass through the Fulham defence for van Persie who latches onto the ball but again Warner is quick off his line to block the Dutch striker and save the Cottagers again.

47mins

Davis has a golden chance at the other end of the pitch after a quck Fulham counter-attack caught Arsenal cold and left the Nothern Irish midfielder forced Lehmann into a brilliant save low down to his right.

47mins

Fabregas swings in a corner towards the far post but yet again Warner is there to grab the ball out of the air.

45mins

Fulham make their first change of the game with Hameur Bouazza being replaced by Clint Dempsey.

45mins

Flamini picks out Rosicky with a great long ball and the Czech midfielder takes the ball on before blasting it straight at Warner who saves well again.

45mins

Fulham get the second half underway hoping to maintain their lead and record their first ever victory at Arsenal.

45mins

Fulham go in at the break with the lead after Lehmann's gift but Arsenal began to turn the screw on the visitors as the half wore, Warner keeping the Gunners at bay.

45mins

Fabregas goes through the middle of the Fulham defence and goes one-on-one with Warner but again the goalkeeper denies Arsenal this time blocking Fabregas' shot well.

45mins

The fourth official indicates there will be two minutes of added on time.

43mins

Rosicky fires in a low cross towards Flamini who side-foots the ball towards goal, but the French midfielders effort is blocked by Knight as Fulham survive again.

42mins

Arsenal give the ball away again this time to Davies who knocks the ball on for Healy, who takes the shot on first time but only scoops the ball over the bar.

39mins

Hleb goes through on goal and forces Warner into a great save as the Fulham goalkeeper was forced to spread himself well to deny the Arsenal midfielder before getting up again to push van Persie's attempt wide of the goal.

39mins

Rosicky curls in another corner for Arsenal but its a poor one as Warner gathers easily at his near post.

37mins

Clichy gets into an advanced position again and tries to pick out van Persie with a cross but its easy for Knight to deal with.

34mins

Rosicky fires in a corner and finds Flamini's head but the French midfielder can only flick the ball over the bar as another chance goes begging.

34mins

Rosicky produces one of his trademark long drives, forcing Warner to get down low quickly to tip the ball behind the goal for an Arsenal corner.

31mins

Davies swings in another corner this time finding McBride who makes contact with the ball but can only head it up and over the bar.

30mins

Arsenal are looking nervous at the minute as another defensive mix-up nearly costs the Gunners again, neither Toure or Gallas failing to deal with a long ball into the box but fortunatly Lehmann was quick of his line to claim the ball.

27mins

Eboue knocks the ball into Van Persie on the edge of the area who flicks the ball up before striking it on the volley, but the Dutch striker can only send the ball high into the stand behind in the goal.

25mins

Davies takes the corner for Fulham, looping it into the penalty area for Carlos Bocanegra to attack but the defender can only flick the ball on for Lehmann to catch the ball with ease.

25mins

Some nice buil-up play from Fulham leads to Simon Davies having a shot which Lehmann is forced to beat away from goal.

22mins

Baird swings in a high freekick towards McBride inside the penalty area but Toure jumps well to clear the danger away from the Arsenal goal.

21mins

Clichy gets forward and delivers a nice cross towards the near post but Knight is there first to clear the ball on the volley.

19mins

Hleb goes down again inside the box after McBride puts in a tough but fair tackle to win the ball well.

18mins

Van Persie whips in Arsenal's first corner but McBride is back defending and the American striker heads the ball away from danger.

17mins

Finally Arsenal click into gear with Eboue and Sagna combining brilliantly before picking out Hleb with the low cross, the midfielder striking the ball well but Knight deflects the ball away from goal and behind for a corner.

16mins

Arsenal are giving the ball away far often for Arsene Wengers liking as Fulham continue to frustrate the home side.

14mins

Eboue gives the ball away to Bouazza who knocks a ball into Healy giving the Nothern Irish striker a chance to turn and shoot but only sends it high and wide of Arsenal's goal.

13mins

Smertin strikes one from long range looking to get the better of Lehmann, but the German goalkeeper gets down well to save and hold the ball.

12mins

Eboue whips in a great cross for Rosicky who catches the ball on the volley but can only send it just over the bar as Arsenal begin to press Fulham.

11mins

Fabregas makes a hash of a free kick wide on the right as the Spanish midfielder scuffs the ball straight to Bouazza who clears.

10mins

Fabregas takes on a shot from long range but it doesn't trouble Warner who just watches the ball skid wide of the goal.

9mins

Hleb jinxes his way into the penalty and looks to be brought down by Baird but referee Phil Dowd waves away the Arsenal protests.

6mins

Healy does well again getting on the end of a Bouazza pass before trying to pick out McBride with the cross but Toure does well to close the goalscorer down and put the ball out for a throw-in.

4mins

Hleb goes on a mazy run through the Fulham defence before slipping the ball to Rosicky who took on the shot a little to quickly, sending it wid of the goal.

3mins

Fulham are bossing the game so far, giving the Gunners no time on the ball whoare looking shell-shocked after Fulham's first goal.

1mins

David Healy gets his first goal for the club after Jens Lehmann makes a mess of the back-pass, slipping and giving it straight to the Northern Ireland striker who simply had to tap the ball home.

0mins

A change to the Fulham line-up with Antti Niemi picking up an injury in the warm-up and Tony Warner taking his place between the sticks

0mins

Referee Phil Dowd get this first of twenty London derbies in the Premiership this season with Arsenal kicking off.

0mins

Fulham: Niemi, Baird, Bocanegra, Knight, Konchesky, Davies, Smertin, Davis, Bouazza, Healy, McBride

0mins

Fulham introduce five of their summer signings with Baird, Konchesky, Bouazza, Davis and Healy all starting for the Cottagers while Kamara is on the bench.Fulham are without Hughes, Cook, Pearce and Christanval as they look for a first win at Arsenal

0mins

Arsenal: Lehmann, Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Eboue, Fabregas, Flamini, Rosicky, Hleb, Van Persie

0mins

Arsenal are without their big summer signing Eduardo da Silva who has an ankle injury, Eduardo joins Adebayor and Gilberto on the sidelines. Bacray Sagna makes his Arsenal debut as the Gunners begin life without Thierry Henry.

Match Preview

Arsenal begin their post-Thierry Henry era against a Fulham side that has been completely overhauled by boss Lawrie Sanchez over the summer.

Henry ended his eight-year association with the Gunners when he moved to Barcelona and the doom-mongers are suggesting Arsene Wenger's side may struggle to gain a top-four spot for the first time in over a decade.

However, Wenger's side have impressed in pre-season and Robin van Persie, if he can steer clear of injuries and suspension, has the style and class to be a more than adequate replacement for Henry.

Eduardo da Silva is also a proven goalscorer who has what it takes to be a success in the Premier League, while the likes of Gael Clichy, Emmanuel Eboue and Kolo Toure are all older and wiser.

Freddie Ljungberg's departure to West Ham is not too much of a blow as the Swedish midfielder had struggled with injuries in the last two campaigns and was more of a bit-part player, while Jeremie Aliadiere, now with Middlesbrough, never really established himself at Arsenal.

Meanwhile at Craven Cottage, Sanchez has undergone a complete overhaul of his squad with eight players being brought in since the end of last season.

The Cottagers only just avoided relegation last term, thanks largely to a 1-0 victory against a second-string Liverpool side in the penultimate game of the season, and Sanchez wasted little time in revamping his squad.

There has been a strong Northern Ireland influence in Sanchez's signings with Aaron Hughes, Steven Davis, Chris Baird and David Healy all being snapped up, as well as Diomansy Kamara, Paul Konchesky, Lee Cook and Hameur Bouazza.


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Match Report

Arsenal staged a dramatic late fightback as they scored twice in the last six minutes to beat a brave Fulham side 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners trailed from the first minute and looked set to suffer a shock defeat until Robin van Persie's penalty and a last-gasp Alex Hleb strike completed a stirring comeback.

The late goals ensured Arsene Wenger's side repeated the trick they managed to perform at the Emirates Stadium so many times last term - conceding the first goal and coming back to win.

Arsenal could not have made a worse start to the match. Gael Clichy's pass back to Jens Lehmann appeared to be innocuous, but the German keeper slipped and David Healy nipped in to slide the ball home on his Cottagers debut.

When the Gunners hit back, Tomas Rosicky dragged a shot just wide after good play by van Persie and Hleb.

Emmanuel Eboue then set up Hleb whose effort was blocked by Zat Knight as Arsenal slowly began to get into the game.

Fulham could not be written off though, and Simon Davies almost added a second for the visitors on the break midway through the first half.

The outstanding Tony Warner, who was a last-minute replacement for Antti Niemi, who was injured his wrist in the warm-up, then made a smart stop to turn Rosicky's low drive away for a corner as the Arsenal pressure mounted.

Fulham had penalty appeals turned down when Cesc Fabregas appeared to clip Steven Davies' heels before Warner another Hleb effort with his legs as Arsenal's frustrations grew.

In first-half stoppage time Fabregas was one-on-one with Warner but once again the keeper blocked the Spaniard's effort.

After the break van Perse's free-kick whistled just past the post and Rosicky was again denied by Warner, but for all Arsenal's possession they appeared to have run out of ideas as the match entered the final six minutes.

But Kolo Toure was then barged over by Carlos Bocanegra and van Persie slotted his penalty high past Warner and into the net.

Hleb then grabbed a stoppage-time winner, rifling a shot past Warner in dramatic scenes after being set up by Fabregas.

Arsenal

Fulham

Corners

144

Fouls

619

Goal attempts

2012

Shots off target

63

Offsides

51

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