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Arsène Wenger is a genius. Nobody can deny what the Frenchman has achieved in the English game since he arrived in London from Japan, 12 years ago. Back then, Arsenal were a well-run club who won the occasional trophy by grinding out results. Wenger changed all that. He gave Highbury Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Cesc Fàbregas — and almost everything it had dreamed of — and, when the marble halls and the Art Deco stands could no longer accommodate the thousands of people who wanted to watch Arsenal, he oversaw the club’s relocation to the Emirates Stadium, arguably the finest football ground in the world.

They sang his name and kept the faith, even though, almost every summer, a big name would leave North London to try his luck somewhere else. The faces changed, but the philosophy remained the same. Arsenal passed and moved, and punched above their weight every season. So how come so many people think that Arsenal have no chance of winning the title this season? How come so many Arsenal supporters walked away from Craven Cottage on Saturday wondering whether this was going to be a long, hard season?

Perhaps it was because Arsenal were so bad that it hurt. They were out-thought, out-fought and outplayed by a team who lost to Hull City on the opening day of the season. Without Fàbregas, Arsenal were clueless. A centre midfield pairing of Emmanuel Eboué and Denilson is the stuff of nightmares for most Arsenal fans and the Brazilian had a shocker. Eboué, at least, gave it his all. Denilson was so dazed and confused after passing to Fulham players for most of the game, he had trouble getting his bearings and taking a throw-in properly in the dying minutes. “We were too nervous,” Wenger said. “We didn’t create a lot.”

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Arsenal’s season should get back on track when Fàbregas returns from a hamstring injury to play against FC Twente on Wednesday, but Wenger needs to strengthen his squad before the transfer window closes next Monday if he is serious about winning the title for the first time since 2004. Mathieu Flamini has to be replaced and, in an ideal world, a new central defender — fitter and less accident-prone than Mikaël Silvestre — is required to stop the kind of goal that Brede Hangeland scored for Fulham midway through the first half. A simple low corner exposed a glaring gap at the heart of the Arsenal defence that was exploited by the Norway captain, who lost William Gallas to give his side the lead with a close-range volley.

“I feel the kind of mistake we made on the corner is not excusable,” Wenger said. “You can be beaten to the ball in the air by somebody who jumps higher than you, but you cannot concede a goal in the middle of the goal, on the six-yard line. That’s where I feel we were guilty.”

Arsenal were also guilty of giving away the ball with alarming frequency and failing to create any clear-cut opportunities after the interval. Emmanuel Adebayor hit a post with a powerful header in the first half, but, as time ran out, they had to rely on Robin van Persie’s increasingly wayward attempts to beat Mark Schwarzer, the Fulham goalkeeper, with a series of desperate long-range free kicks.

“We did not give them time to settle,” Roy Hodgson, the Fulham manager, said. “We worked hard all over the field. It was a team defensive performance.”

Fulham had five players making their home debuts and were unrecognisable from the side that lost 3-0 to Arsenal at home last season. In January, Fulham were taught a lesson by midfield players such as Flamini, Alexander Hleb, Tomas Rosicky and Fàbregas. Only two of those players are still at the Emirates Stadium. “Let’s not make too many comparisons,” Wenger said. “The team is nearly the same.”

Fulham (4-4-2): M Schwarzer 7 - J Paintsil 7, A Hughes 7, B Hangeland 8, T Kallio 7 - S Davies 7, J Bullard 8, D Murphy 7, Z Gera 7 - Seol Ki Hyeon 7, R Zamora 7. Substitutes: C Baird (for Kallio, 73min), C Dempsey (for Seol, 76), Andranik Teymourian (for Murphy, 81). Not used: D Stockdale, E Nevland, F Stoor, R Milsom. Next: Bolton (h)

Arsenal (4-4-2): M Almunia 6 - B Sagna 6, W Gallas 5, K Touré 5, G Clichy 7 - T Walcott 5, E Eboué 6, Denilson 5, S Nasri 6 - R van Persie 5, E Adebayor 5. Substitutes: N Bendtner 5 (for Walcott, 64min), A Song (for Touré, 76). Not used: L Fabianski, A Ramsey, J Wilshere, J Djourou, K Gibbs. Next: Blackburn (a).