Fulham denied by late equaliser

Arsenal 1 Fulham 1

Thomas Vermaelen atoned for an earlier own goal by scoring a late equaliser that denied Fulham their first ever victory at Arsenal.

Fulham went ahead midway through the second half when Vermaelen attempted to clear Danny Murphy’s pass to John Arne Riise and succeeded only in putting the ball into his own net.

The Whites were six minutes away from an historic win when Vermaelen headed Theo Walcott’s right-wing cross past Mark Schwarzer.

Veteran goalkeeper Schwarzer was outstanding, producing fine saves before and after Arsenal finally scored

The Australian denied Walcott in the first half and was later helped by Chris Baird, who cleared Robin van Persie’s shot off the line.

Schwarzer also saved from Aaron Ramsey and Johan Djourou to ensure Fulham left north London with a point.

“A draw for us is a satisfying result for us,” Fulham boss Martin Jol insisted.

“In the first half we had seven attempts on goal, but we couldn’t play our football in the last 15 minutes. To get three points you have to do a bit more.”

“Arsenal have a winning mentality and showed that when they were 1-0 down. They did everything to score. With their form over the last six weeks, a draw is pleasing for us.”

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