Fulham fully deserved a point, definitely more than that but got nout.
Having taken the lead after David Healy intercepted a Jens Lehmann pass, the Cottagers held Arsenal for eighty-five minutes.
There were chances for both sides, with Tony Warner outstanding in goal, replacing the injured Antti Niemi.
The Gunners were pouring forward for a ten-minute period, with the defence, especially Knight and Baird doing very well, with Knight throwing himself in front of the ball at an Arsenal attack.
In the second half, Dempsey replaced Bouazza who although worked hard found the pace tough going. Dempsey had a great chance to make it two nil but lamely prodded well wide when put in by McBride.
Davis blasted straight at Lehmann whilst Toure nearly put into his own net late on.
Then Toure burst forward into the box and was body checked by the impressive Bocanegra, the result was a Robin Van Persie penalty, which he blasted into the top corner.
Fulham then conceded another goal through Hleb in the ninetieth minute.
This continues the trend of Arsenal winning late on at games in Ashburton Grove, last season beating Man Utd and Wigan late on in games.
Player Ratings:
Tony Warner: Superb, great saves and collected a good few corners. Vital Fulham rating: 9
Chris Baird: Very impressive, defensively sound, very good tackles. Vital Fulham rating: 7
Carlos Bocanegra: Solid, did well. Vital Fulham rating: 7
Zat Knight: Brilliant, blocked most things and had a great attitude, also concentrated for the full ninety minutes. Vital Fulham rating: 8
Paul Konchesky: Did ok, poor passing and was the weak link in the first half, improved in the second half. Vital Fulham rating: 7
Defence Overall: Brilliant, held a very good line. Vital Fulham rating: 8
Simon Davies: Stunning, worked very hard for the team, never gave up and was creative. Vital Fulham rating: 8
Smertin: Mr Dependable, solid as always. The game changed when he was substituted. Vital Fulham rating: 7
Simon Davis: Should have buried a half volley but hit it straight at Lehmann, other than that was impressive. Vital Fulham rating: 7
Hameur Bouazza: Disappointed in him to be quite frank. Tracked back well but didn’t have any other impact. Vital Fulham rating: 6
Midfield overall: Played well together overall. Vital Fulham rating: 7
Brian McBride: A very clever player but doesn’t have the legs. Put Dempsey through with a great ball, scuffed a chance from a corner though. Vital Fulham rating: 6
David Healy: Very impressed, worked hard and ran the channels well. Well get goals in the Premiership if he performs like he did today. Vital Fulham rating: 7
Forwards overall: worked very well together, pinning the Arsenal defence into their own half on several occasions. Vital Fulham rating: 7
Substitutions:
lint Dempsey for Hameur Bouazza: Poor, should have scored to make it two nil to Fulham but apart from that was still poor. Vital Fulham rating: 5
Diomansy Kamara for David Healy: Looks like a frustrating player even though he wasn’t today, kept the ball well and looked confident. Vital Fulham rating: 6
Papa Bouba Diop for Alexy Smertin: Did well, good tackles and was strong in the middle of the park. Vital Fulham rating: 7
Unused substitutions: Elliot Omozusi and Moritz Volz.
Arsenal line up:
ehmann, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Eboue, Fabregas, Flamini, Rosicky, Hleb, Van Persie.
Substitutions: Walcott for Eboue, Bendtner for Rosicky and Song for Van Persie.
Ref watch:
eferee, Phil Dowd.
ital Fulham rating: 5. Got a lot of decisions wrong and was generally poor.
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