Fulham v Arsenal player ratings

Fulham’s recent signings gave their fans room for optimism, but Arsenal were convincing winners at Craven Cottage. Here’s how we rated the Whites players in their 3-1 defeat.

David Stockdale: 7
Stepped in for the injured Maarten Stekelenburg. Denied Theo Walcott on several occasions but was unfortunate to see one of his saves land at the feet of Lukas Podolski, who lashed home the second goal.

Sascha Riether: 6
Struggled to contain Podolski, who was cutting in from the left flank, but did make some promising forward runs.

Aaron Hughes: 6
Arsenal’s movement around the edge of the box caused him problems but Hughes and the back four weren’t helped out by the midfield allowing space in behind.

Brede Hangeland: 5
A man mountain against Sunderland but was beaten in the air all too often by Olivier Giroud and was found wanting against the speed of Walcott and trickery of Santi Cazorla.

John Arne Riise: 5
Made a couple of important defensive interceptions early on but was often left for dead by the impressive Walcott. Also played Giroud onside for the first goal.

Damien Duff 6:
Drifted in and out of the match before he was replaced by Darren Bent on 58 minutes. Saw a shot saved by Wojciech Szczesny after the Arsenal keeper had kept out Adel Taarabt’s effort.

Scott Parker: 7
Put himself about in typical Parker style and did the simple things effectively only to fade late in both halves, when Arsenal cut through the midfield with ease. Made a strong run through the Gunners defence only to be denied by Bacary Sagna’s challenge, but he will be a welcome addition to a midfield lacking in bite.

Steve Sidwell: 6
Failed to screen the defence properly and couldn’t find his passing range consistently. Replaced by Giorgos Karagounis after 74 minutes.

Adel Taarabt: 7
His team’s brightest attacking threat in the first half but, as is often the case, too keen to take command of everything by himself. Occasionally guilty of wayward shooting but also the only Fulham attacker to keep Arsenal on the back foot, drawing a couple of fine saves from Szczesny.

Patjim Kasami: 7
An excellent first hour of graft and quality on the ball but was less effective when pulled wide as Fulham switched to 4-4-2. Was involved in some of Fulham’s best first-half attacks and his strong display against an all-star cast in the middle of the park is a promising sign.

Dimitar Berbatov: 6
Kept largely subdued by the Arsenal defence until Bent came on to offer more support. Set up his new strike partner’s goal with a low cross that was parried by Szczesny.

Darren Bent: 7
Has spent a long period in the wilderness at Aston Villa but when he came on he was evidently keen to remind Fulham boss Martin Jol, who managed him at Spurs, what he is capable of. Worked hard to get in a good positions and tapped home from close range to make Fulham the fourth club for whom has scored on his debut (Villa, Sunderland and Charlton the others).

Alex Kacaniklic: 6
Didn’t have the same impact on the game as Taarabt when he came on, with Arsenal largely dominating possession at that time.

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