Fulham vs. Arsenal

1-3, Premier League, Craven Cottage, 24.08.2013
Giroud 14,
Podolski 41, 68

Once again we put on a brilliant display, further underlining the fact that the premiere was a one-off. Just as in the Fenerbahce clash we had a great defensive play with fast paced pressure, not granting much time or space for the Fulham players. Due to the extreme weather condition, heavy rain was pouring down, both the pitch and the ball grew quite slippery, leading to plenty of rewarding shots as the grip for the 'keepers was quite poor.

Our first two shots, by Podolski and Cazorla, were both deflected wide, resulting in corners. But before long we hit the target, and made sure that it counted. Ramsey fired a shot towards the goal, which was interrupted by none other than Olivier Giroud, who could then put the ball past the 'keeper from close range! The Frenchman has now scored in all of our three games so far this season!
   Just two minutes later Szczesny made sure we kept the lead through a superb double save! He began by saving a shot, then followed up with a second brilliant save as the ball was deflected across the goal and a strike emerged from the other side of the box! It was then time to call the Fulham 'keeper back into action, which Cazorla did with a shot on target.
   As the half was drawing to a close we racked up a couple of more chances, as well as another goal! Gibbs fired wide after a decent counter attack, involving (per-usual) a great run by Walcott. With less than five minutes of the half to go we doubled our lead, through Lukas Podolski! Walcott's shot on target was saved by the 'keeper, but the rebound found our German striker who fired a powerful strike into the back of the net! Walcott had a final chance in the very last minute as he almost reached Podolski's cross, but the score-line remained 2-0 in our favour into half-time.

The second half began on a quite even level, Fulham gained in possession from the previous half yet could not quite find a way through our defence. Our first decent chance came approximately fifteen minutes into the half, as Walcott headed the ball back to Ramsey, whose shot was deflected just wide of the target.
   With about twenty minutes to go our German striker was at it again with his second goal of the game! Cazorla played the ball back to Lukas Podolski, who did magnificently to fire it right by the far post, out of the 'keepers reach! Unfortunately we did not manage to keep a clean-sheet this time around, as Bent scored for Fulham with less than fifteen minutes to go. Szczesny saved the initial shot from Berbatov, only to have Bent convert the rebound into a goal.
   As the game entered the final ten minutes we had three decent chances to score following one free-kick. First Monreal almost headed the ball, but the 'keeper reached it first, only for it to reach ..., whose shot was deflected and wrapping the 3-in-1 chance up was Mertesacker with a shot that was saved and grabbed by the 'keeper. The following minute Sanogo was brought on for Podolski, making his competitive debut. During the added time Walcott had a shot saved by the 'keeper and Szczesny denied Fulham their final chance by catching the cross.

Injury Update:
- Koscielny was suspended in this game, but would have been unable to play anyway due to a deep cut on his cheek from the Fenerbahce game. Hopefully he will recover for the midweek game.