Arsenal 2-2 Fulham: Joao Palhinha scores late equaliser as hosts' perfect start to Premier League season ended

Joao Palhinha stunned Arsenal with a late equaliser as 10-player Fulham came back to claim a dramatic 2-2 draw at the Emirates and end their hosts' perfect start to the Premier League season.

Fulham may have failed to record their first league win at Arsenal but they will surely take heart from the hard-earned point they take back to west London, particularly after two big calls went against them.

Calvin Bassey was sent off, with Marco Silva branding the first of his two yellow cards a "joke", while Bukayo Saka was not punished for pulling the defender down in the build-up to Eddie Nketiah's goal.

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The Gunners' overriding feeling will be one of frustration after failing to move above Tottenham and into top spot in the Premier League, with sloppy errors undermining Mikel Arteta's side.

Saka inadvertently set up Andreas Pereira for Fulham's opener within the first minute and Palhinha was handed the freedom of the penalty area to score the visitors' equaliser.

Saka made amends for his error by scoring a second-half penalty and Nketiah put the hosts ahead with their controversial second, but the Gunners could not see out the win.

How Fulham shocked Arsenal to claim hard-fought point

If Arsenal had needed any further motivation ahead of taking on Fulham, it was provided when rivals Spurs went top of the league thanks to their win at Bournemouth in the lunchtime kick-off.

The visit of Fulham - who had never won at Arsenal in the league in 30 attempts - appeared the perfect opportunity to go back above their north London neighbours.

However, Marco Silva's side had other ideas and were ahead inside the first minute when Pereira raced onto Saka's loose pass and bent the ball past the back-peddling Aaron Ramsdale.

Arsenal quickly regained their composure in possession and went close through Kai Havertz - who endured another quiet afternoon - while Gabriel Martinelli was bravely denied by a Raul Jimenez tackle and Martin Odegaard saw a goal ruled out for offside shortly before half-time.

But the hosts looked worrying vulnerable defensively and Jimenez almost punished some slack work from Ben White with a stunning overhead kick, while Harry Wilson powered an effort just wide under little pressure from range.

Fulham continued to frustrate Arsenal throughout the second half - until Kenny Tete undid all their hard work with a rash challenge on Fabio Vieira, allowing Saka to draw his side level from the penalty spot.

The home fans had barely retaken their seats when Nketiah turned in the impressive Vieira's cross to complete the turnaround, although Arsenal could count themselves lucky given Bassey had been left sprawled in the Fulham area in the build-up.

The defender was pulled down by Saka - although VAR did not deem it worthy of ruling out the goal - with the hosts refusing to put the ball out and then taking advantage of the stricken defender to score.

Silva was booked in the aftermath and his mood darkened further when Bassey received a second yellow card for bringing down Nketiah.

But, with Arsenal supporters already beginning to celebrate their ascent to the top of the table, Palhinha took advantage of some non-existent marking to turn in a corner and spark a wild end to the game as both sides had chances to score a third.

Vieira almost won it with a spectacular bicycle kick and Issa Diop had to clear from under his own crossbar when Arsenal looked certain to score, while Fulham could have claimed all three points when Adama Traore stormed past William Saliba on the counter-attack - only for Ramsdale to make a vital stop at the end of a breathless encounter.

Silva fumes at officials over Bassey decisions

Silva was furious with referee Paul Tierney for his decision to send off Bassey, as well as the call not to punish Saka for his clash with the defender in the build-up to Nketiah's goal.

Bassey's first yellow card came after Tierney adjudged him to be wasting time as he prepared to take a goal-kick, and Silva told Sky Sports: "The first yellow card for Calvin is a joke.

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"For the second goal of Arsenal, for me it's a clear foul on Calvin. [Saka] pulls his arm, a clear foul. I spoke with the fourth official and he said: 'I'll call the referee to give you a yellow card.'"

The Fulham boss went on to criticise the new directives for officials to crack down on time wasting, adding he believes it hands an advantage to bigger clubs.

"Of course we understand the new circumstances we are playing," he said. "They are taking all the emotion from the game.

"It is going to protect the big clubs because you have to see consistency in the decisions. If a player from Fulham takes 15 seconds to throw the ball or [take] a goal-kick, it will be a yellow card.

"This player will be always under pressure because if he makes a foul it will be a second yellow card, for example this afternoon with Calvin.

"But for the other clubs it's not the same. If you see one of the first throw-ins for (Thomas) Partey on my side on the touchline, he took much more time than Calvin on the goal-kick.

"It was not a yellow card. Why? Because they were losing the game? That's why I say you're not going to see consistency."

Speaking on Soccer Saturday, former Premier League referee Mike Dean said of Silva: "Some of the wording he's used, words like 'joke', if he gives himself another hour or so he probably thinks, 'why have I said that?'

"I wouldn't be surprised if he gets asked about his comments."

Analysing Silva's claims over Bassey's first booking, Dean added: "(Bernd) Leno gets the ball, runs past where the ball should be placed into the centre of the goal, rolls it back to Bassey... it's not just Bassey who has done the time-wasting.

"Leno's hung his team-mate out to dry. It takes nine seconds and he gets a yellow card, but Leno has done 10 or 15 seconds on top.

"It's 20 seconds until the restart. I know people are going to say it's only 20 seconds but they've been told pre-season about getting the ball into play quicker.

Arteta: Havertz will win over fans

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Arteta backed Havertz to earn the affection of Arsenal supporters after some in the stadium criticised him during a low-key performance.

"Yes, I think so," said the manager when asked whether the £65m signing would win over his new fans. "I think he's done already really good things.

"Today it was tough in certain moments. He got in great areas and the ball didn't arrive.

"In a lot of situations he should have scored a lot of goals already this season. That's the thing that is missing."

Havertz was replaced early in the second half and Arteta praised the impact of his substitutes - including Vieira and Nketiah - as they helped his side turn the game around.

"In the second half we made some changes," Arteta said. "The dynamic changed, we had better relationships.

"The subs made a huge difference, great impact. I loved the determination and the confidence they brought to the team.

"We made the most difficult thing, go 2-1 up. Then you have to defend the box with your life. You cannot concede a goal after everything we did. We should have scored five, six, seven."

Analysis: Arsenal yet to show growth from last season

Sky Sports football journalist Joe Shread at the Emirates:

If Arsenal have designs on going one better than last year and lifting the Premier League for the first time in 20 years, Arteta will need to plug the holes in his leaky defence - especially at the Emirates.

Their remarkable habit of conceding inside the first minute at home - they have now done it three times in nine Premier League matches in 2023 - cost them in the draw against Southampton last season and did so again against Fulham.

Incidentally, Fulham are the only top-flight side since the start of last season to keep fewer home clean sheets than the Gunners.

Arteta’s array of creative midfielders and versatile forwards again dug their team-mates out of a hole on Saturday - only for the defence to crumble yet again.

It’s early days, but the evidence that Arsenal are a more complete side than last season - and therefore more realistic title contenders - is yet to be provided.

What's next?

Arsenal's next three Premier League games are live on Sky Sports, starting with their home match against Manchester United on Sunday September 3 - kick-off 4.30pm.

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The Gunners then visit Everton on Saturday September 16 - kick-off 5.30pm - before hosting Tottenham in the north London derby on Sunday September 24 - kick-off 2pm.

Fulham's next game is at home to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday - kick-off 7.45pm - before visiting champions Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday - kick-off 3pm.

Opta stats: Gunners continue to leak goals at home

• Arsenal have conceded inside the first minute in three of their last nine Premier League matches at the Emirates (vs Bournemouth, Southampton and Fulham). The Gunners are the first team in Premier League history to concede a first-minute goal three times in a single calendar year.
• Arsenal have kept four clean sheets from 21 Premier League games at the Emirates since the start of last season; of the 17 teams to participate in the competition in each of the last two seasons, only Fulham have kept fewer clean sheets at home (3).
• Fabio Vieira, who came on in the 56th minute, became the first substitute to win a penalty and assist a goal in the Premier League since Kelechi Iheanacho for Leicester in January 2020, and the first Arsenal player to do so.
• Bukayo Saka has appeared in each of Arsenal’s last 83 matches in the Premier League, now the outright longest run of any player for the club in the competition, going clear of Paul Merson (1995-1997). The first game in the run came against West Brom back in May 2021.

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