EPL Week 2: Clinical Arsenal come away with 3-1 away win over Fulham

LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 24: Lukas Podolski of Arsenal (second left) celebrates scoring his side’s second goal with Per Mertesacker and team mates during the Barclays Premier League match between Fulham and Arsenal at Craven Cottage

Arsenal scored an important victory over London rivals Fulham in a clinical 3-1 victory at Craven Cottage. Olivier Giroud‘s opening goal and Lukas Podolski‘s brace ensured that the Gunners came away with all three points. Darren Bent scored the consolation goal for Fulham on his debut.

The game got off to a feisty start on a rainy London afternoon as both teams looked to press and attack as soon as the game got underway. Both teams continued to exchange blows before Olivier Giroud scored a fortuitous goal – his third of the season – in the 14th minute off a misplaced Aaron Ramsey pass to give the Gunners the lead. Giroud has now scored in every competitive game that Arsenal have played this season.

The game continued at a brisk pace as neither team relented and looked to counter. Fulham, too, had some good chances, but some important saves by  Wojciech Szcz?sny kept the Cottagers’ attack at bay.

However, in the 41st minute, Lukas Podolski rifled in the second goal after a Theo Walcott shot rebounded off goalkeeper David Stockton and fell straight to the German forward, who made no mistake with the finish.

The scoreline read 2-0 at the end of the first half.

The second half had no shortage of action as Fulham refused to give up and continued to threaten the Arsenal goal. However, in the 68th minute, Podolski scored yet another high-quality goal after he got on the end of an excellent Arsenal move. Santi Cazorla delivered the final pass onto the path of Podolski as the scoreline read 3-0.

Fulham continued to show spirit and were finally rewarded for their efforts in the 77th minute when Dimitar Berbatov provided Darren Bent with an assist as Bent tapped in his first-ever goal for Fulham from close range.

The game had no shortage of action in the final 15 minutes and both teams did not relent and were kept on their toes till the final whistle. However, no additional goals were scored as Arsenal won their first game of the Premier League, much to relief of the club authorities and fans.