By Rob Draper
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Arsenal were not finished last weekend, and the fundamental issues affecting the club have not been resolved this weekend. Nevertheless, there is nothing like a confident victory to change the narrative.
For a club in crisis, Arsenal suddenly looked like a team in control of their destiny.
'People are so much focused on the players coming in that they forget how good our players are,' said Arsene Wenger. There was some truth in that, but even he would not concede that his squad are adequate at present. Indeed, his transfer plans do not change.
VIDEO Scroll down to watch Arsene Wenger and Martin Jol reactions
Classy: Arsenal didn't look at team in disarray as they confidently swept Fulham aside
Match facts
Fulham: Stockdale 5, Riether 5, Hughes 5, Hangeland 6, Riise 5, Duff 5 (Bent 59 - 6), Parker 6, Sidwell 6 (Karagounis 75), Taarabt 6 (Kacaniklic 62 - 6), Kasami 6, Berbatov 5
Subs not used: Ruiz, Briggs, Boateng, Etheridge
Goal: Bent 77
Booked: Parker, Kasami
Arsenal: Szczesny 6, Jenkinson 7, Sagna 7, Mertesacker 7, Gibbs 7, Ramsey 8, Rosicky 7 (Wilshere 70), Cazorla 7, Podolski 8 (Sanogo 81), Walcott 8, Giroud 7 (Monreal 72)
Subs not used: Fabianski, Frimpong, Gnabry, Zelalem
Goals: Giroud 14, Podolski 41, 68
Booked: Ramsey, Wilshere
Player ratings by Sami Mokbel at Craven Cottage
'I know exactly what I want to do,' he said. 'Now we will be under a bit less media pressure. Before next weekend it's possible (to buy), but I'm not the only one who can decide that because of the clubs who sell the players. We are in the market, you know that.'
Still, there was plenty to admire from his current squad, principally from Santi Cazorla, imperious in the unseasonal downpour yesterday at Craven Cottage. There were also impressive supporting roles from Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey, Olivier Giroud and, of course, Lukas Podolski.
The German is understandably not enamoured with his lack of starts and a move to Schalke has been mooted.
Given his chance, he took it with two fine strikes and an ovation from the Arsenal fans, which should convince him his future remains in London.
'I'm pleased for him because he did not always start recently, more because of the balance of the team than personal performance,' said Wenger.
'He's always in high spirits, he's a very important player and he can score goals. We had no interest from anyone making an inquiry about him. Lukas is a great partner, everyone loves him in the squad and I want to keep him.'
Cool: Olivier Giroud was calm in front of goal as he opened the scoring
Make that two: Lukas Podolski thrashes in Arsenal's second before the break
And another: The German international celebrates with Giroud after adding a third
Positive: Darren Bent got off the mark within 20 minutes of coming off the bench
Ramsey shone, too, beginning to play like that precocious youth of three years ago.
'A year ago he was under high scrutiny and people had major doubts, but now he deserves huge credit for having moved forward the way he did,' added Wenger. 'And we deserve some as well, because we continue to develop him and believe in him.'
For Martin Jol there was only muted satisfaction that Fulham had contained Arsenal for long periods and held possession well. When it counted, they were exposed.
Still, there was an effective debut for Scott Parker and a goal-scoring one for Darren Bent. There were bright moments but not enough end product from Adel Taarabt. And there is always Dimitar Berbatov.
In some ways this was a counter-intuitive Arsenal performance.
The parody of this team is that they dominate possession, defend poorly and concede soft goals. Here they did the opposite. In a game in which they might have expected to overwhelm their opponents, they more or less shared possession, Arsenal having 53.6 per cent of the ball. For long periods, they were on the back foot, yet the back four held firm.
They restricted Fulham to minimal opportunities and when their opponents did create, Wojciech Szczesny was on hand to deny them — his double save from Taarabt and Damien Duff on 19 minutes the best of them.
Arsenal's opening goal was somewhat fortunate, though ultimately finished well. Ramsey's shot hit Giroud, but the Frenchman reacted quickest to poke the ball past David Stockdale on 13 minutes.
Slip and slide: Santi Cazorla and Adel Taarabt challenge in the wet
Treacherous: Pajtim Kasami and Per Mertesacker race for a bouncing ball
And on the counter-attack, Arsenal were devastasting. Both their second and third goals came after sustained periods of Fulham pressure.
Arsenal's first-half retreat evoked nervous memories of last week's debacle until, on 41 minutes, they broke and Cazorla fed Walcott. His pace stretched Fulham and his shot was parried by Stockdale but Podolski guided the rebound through a crowded penalty area and in. Likewise, on 66 minutes, Arsenal had been superficially unimpressive for a while.
Here's how Lukas Podolski scored Arsenal's second - click here for all the stats from Craven Cottage
Ray of sunshine: Taarabt was Fulham's biggest threat, consistently looking to pepper the Arsenal goal
Debut: Scott Parker started his Fulham career, who are his fifth London club
Yet, when they attacked, they did so clinically and with efficiency. Giroud brought down a clearance, held the ball up for Walcott, who again made the ground. Cazorla then repeated the role of provider, turning and twisting before finding Podolski, who converted a fine shot from the edge of the box.
There was a shaky moment on 76 minutes, when Berbatov brought down a ball delightfully in the box, shot and when Szczesny could only push it towards Bent at the far post, he finished from close range.
Yet Arsenal remained in control. Sometimes it can be forgotten that Wenger's greatest sides played much of their football this way, on the back foot, never more dangerous than when breaking from their own half.
Arsenal may be a long way from being that team; but they were better than last weekend. For now, that can count as progress.
Link: Theo Walcott was intelligent going forward and marshaled by Steve Sidwell
@roburb , USA - I think we would all welcome that move, however it will never happen. Lewandoski is going to Bayern and nowhere else.
- theIrish1 , St. Louis, 25/8/2013 04:47
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