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After Fulham opened the season with a disappointing loss against Hull City few expected much when Arsenal made its annual trip to Craven Cottage. However, Fulham gave the supporters a real treat on Saturday as the Cottagers shocked Arsenal 1-0 in front of a raucous crowd in southwest London.
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The win marked Fulham's first of the season and only their second over Arsenal in club history. It was an unexpected win but any neutral observer would tell you that Fulham fully deserved the three points after a consistent display for most of the ninety minutes.
The loss for Arsenal is their first of the young 2008-2009 season and manager Arsene Wenger has to be disappointed with the way his young Gunners played on Saturday. Arsenal played with very little of the flair and energy one would normally see out of the Gunners.
Fulham started strong as they did last week against Hull and once again the early pressure the Cottagers put on Arsenal resulted in a goal in the 21st minute. Jimmy Bullard's corner kick found defender Brede Hangeland who got a foot on the ball and put it past Manuel Almunia to give the Cottagers the 1-0 lead.
Arsenal nearly equalised later in the second half when Emmanuel Adebayor hit the right post and the ball bounced out of bounds. That was one of the few Arsenal chances in the first half as Fulham went into the dressing room leading 1-0.
In the second half Fulham continued to control a lot of possession and limitede Arsenal's potent offense to few opportunities.
The Cottagers had a chance to double the lead in the 59th minute when Seol Ki-Hyeon missed over the crossbar.
As the match progressed into the 70th minute Arsenal began to put more and more pressure on the Fulham defense. Robin Van Persie won two free kicks for Arsenal just outside the 18-yard box, but the Dutch striker's kicks left a lot to be desired for Gunner supporters.
Arsenal continued to push forward looking for the equaliser. Adebayor had a chance to level things up in the 85th minute but his shot straight into the arms of Fulham keeper Mark Scwarzer to end that Arsenal attack.
Substitute Andranik Teymourian, making his Fulham debut, lost possession of a ball and ultimately fouled Van Persie again. But like the previous two free kick attempts, Van Persie kicked it straight into the wall and Fulham fans everywhere breathed a sigh of relief collectively.
The Gunners kept pushing in the final minutes but as was the case all day, the Fulham defense held strong and the Cottagers earned that all important first win of the season.
No one expected Fulham to win this one but like Fulham's "Great Escape" last season the Cottagers found a way to pull it out and win the impossible over an Arsenal team that many expect will contend for the league title this season.
Fuklham returns to action on September 12th when they play host to Bolton.
Note: written by Tom Wille
FulhamUSA.com Editor-in-Chief
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Posted by: ChicagoTom on Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 11:28 AM
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