Arsenal:
                   Lehmann
            Lauren Toure Cygan Cole
Hleb (Clichy 86) Gilberto Fabregas Reyes (Flamini 74)
             Henry Bergkamp

Cracking game in which we gave Fulham a head start before thumping them out of sight, in which Thierry Henry moved one goal from history, and in which the whole of Highbury could be heard singing (with more than a smidgeon of disbelief) "there's only one Pascal Cygan".

We started well. In the first minute Reyes and Bergkamp combined in the middle before the latter fed a great ball for Cole to run onto. He took it deep and squared across the box, but Henry just failed to reach it. Hleb retrieved the ball by the goal-line on the far side and cut it back to the edge of the box where Gilberto met it with a shot which he scuffed a bit so that it was easy for the keeper Tony Warner to fall onto.

On 6 minutes a terrific through ball by Hleb put Henry through, and he was brought down in the box by Zat Knight. Lauren stepped up to take the penalty and placed it low to the keeper's right, but Warner got across well and made the save.

10 minutes, and superb battling by Dennis in the middle of the pitch won the ball. He slipped it through to Henry who had back to goal 20 yards out and level with the last defender. He did a cute drag-back expecting Hleb to be bombing in from the left wing, but the new boy hadn't made the run that Freddie probably would have.

On 15 minutes, Reyes played a beautiful ball into space for Bergkamp on the left. He squared for Cesc who hit first-time shot from the D which was always rising but probably heading under the bar before Warner rose to tip it over. Henry's corner fround Cygan beyond the far post and his header went just short of that post (which was probably covered anyway).

On 20, a great ball from Hleb down the right wing found Dennis, whose cross came off Henry in the box towards Reyes coming in to the penalty spot, but the ref judged that Thierry had used an arm.

Moments later, Henry played a fantastic ball from right to left for Bergkamp at the far post. He tried to cushion it into the middle of the box but there wasn't anyone in clear space there so it was surprising he didn't try a shot himself. Fulham took the ball up the other end and Klaus Jensen hit a superb looping shot from outside the box on their left, which dipped inside the far top corner giving Lehmann no chance. It wasn't their first attack, but it was still a shock because early threat from the visitors had appeared to have dissipated completely by that point.

Cesc had another decent long-range effort, and Reyes too. A lot of players were having trouble keeping their feet on the slippy wet surface.

Cygan had already made a couple of defensive blunders that had gone unpunished, controlling the ball badly when he could have just cleared it. On 27 he tried to shepherd the ball out for a goal kick but instead gave away a corner. It was cleared outside the box to Former Gunner Moritz Volz (quite impressive at right back for Fulham, should we have let him go?). He blasted it and Lehmann made a good save.

Reyes was causing lots of problems, and continued to do so till he was subbed 10 minutes from time. On the half hour for example he dribbled his way into and through the box, but ran out of space right at the end and sliced the ball wide under a lot of pressure. So much pressure that, not for the last time in the game, he went down with what appeared to be ankle pain, and had to go off for treatment. It was the only way Fulham were going to stop him.

Straight after he came back on, Jose was fouled again on the left wing. Bergkamp curled it straight into the goalmouth and in what looked like a rehearsed move, we ended up with 3 Arsenal men running in unchallenged to meet the ball. It was Pascal Cygan who stooped to head it home giving Warner no chance. A better defence would probably have snuffed the chance out.

We had a lucky break on 38 minutes when Fulham outnumbered our defence on the break, and someone hit a snap shot a yard wide.

Bergkamp challenged for a ball running towards their goal line and went down, but was booked and it was far from clear to me why that was. Far from clear to Dennis too, and he got a bit (worringly) worked up for a while. He was fired up, and in the next few minutes he got fouled running into the box, played a great flick for Cesc (who tried to return the ball to Dennis when there were 2 players that he hadn't spotted in loads of space to his left), and then Dennis forced Warner to come out and deny him.

Since the opening goal against us, Arsenal had managed to reimpose themselves, and it continued in that vein as the second half started. Once again in the first minute after kick-off Cole was setting up a half-chance, his looping cross to the right being met by Dennis - a difficult volley which he hit well wide of the far post.

A minute later, Hleb drove a shot a yard and a half wide. Then Fulham attacked and a cross from their left was nearly turned into the net but went wide.

Henry put us ahead on 53, collecting Hleb found Reyes whose terrific came to Thierry on the right of the box. He collected it nicely and slipped his shot low under the keeper.

Cole concede a free kick near the corner at our end, and it was met by a header which forced Lehmann to make an amazing save from under the bar. Then Jens came out with a great touch to clear the resulting corner.

Reyes went on yet another superb run after intercepting on the halfway line. He went past 2 but the shot in the end was too soft and down the keeper's throat.

On 24 he was was at it again, this time ending his run into the box with a pass forward for Dennis, but again Warner came out quick to snuff out the chance (and again Reyes went down injured).

On 29 a nice lay-off from Thierry found Hleb whose instant blast caused Warner problems. He got behind it but couldn't hold it and the ball nearly bounced behind him into the net.

After Reyes' substitution Flamini did pretty well, and set up Henry's second. It started with some typically energetic chasing from the veteran Bergkamp in the middle of the pitch. It came to Flamini who passed to Henry's feet in the box, and he scored with a little chip over the outrushing keeper. The stadium announcer reminded us that this took Thierry to within one goal of Ian Wright's all time club record (and with remarkably similar stats).

On 83 Bergkamp forced another good save from Warner after controlling a difficult ball. The corner came out to Gilberto who struck the shot well but too close to the keeper.

Right at the death, Clichy won a free kick on the left touchline. I have to admit to being a bit bemused as Henry and Bergkamp both went over to stand by the ball. But it made made sense a moment later. Thierry touched the ball for Dennis and he swung it in towards the near post. Toure got to the ball first, a few yards out, and it came to the left where Cygan had moved into space. Pascal shaped himself nicely and thumped the ball into the net, with Toure doing a star jump to let the shot pass beneath him.

There'd been a little singing of Cygan's name after his first goal, but this time it was the whole stadium. Nice for the lad. I'm not sure many of us think that he's got the defensive attributes we want, but if nothing else it's good that his Arsenal career will have included at least one moment like this. At the end he went off last with Henry, both of them to great acclaim. Oh yes, and the stadium announcer reminded us that Cygan was now just 181 goals short of Ian Wright's record....

I thought Fulham were going to be better than this, but have to admit that it looks like Warner (their on loan 3rd choice) could be good enough to make them almost forget about Edwin vanm der Saar. Apart from him, Diop was the only player that looked like he could interest a big club, so inevitably the rumours are abounding.