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Graphic: tactical analysis by Bill Edgar

It is going to take a lot more than the sale of Thierry Henry to change the modus operandi of Arsenal. Time of first goal scored, inexplicably, by the visiting side at the Emirates Stadium: 57 seconds. Time of first accusation of diving by opposition manager: ten minutes. Time of first moment of breathtaking invention by the home side, somehow not rewarded with a goal: 12 minutes. Time of first supporter sighted banging his head against metal object, in impotent rage at perceived unnecessary intricacy in front of goal: 18 minutes. Time of heroic fightback: 83-90 minutes.

Last season, Arsenal went behind in 13 of 27 matches at the new ground, yet lost only one. Little, it would seem, has changed. Not a full minute had elapsed when Jens Lehmann, the goalkeeper, handed Fulham the most unexpected opener and it took Arsène Wenger’s team a surprising chunk of the afternoon to cancel it out. The momentum of that event did the rest and the manager is not wrong in suggesting that great things can emerge from inauspicious beginnings.

“This is the kind of result that changes a season,” Wenger said. “A London derby with a lot riding on it because it is the first league match after Thierry has left. We know what people would have said if we had lost. The one thing my years of experience have told me is that in every successful season there is a stage at which a team finally begin to believe in themselves. They think they can do it – after that, they never give up any-more.”

It is possible that Wenger was attempting to inspire that emotion with his equivalent of a Churchillian moment. Certainly, his words were more impressive than the evidence of the eye, which suggested that Arsenal were merely carrying on where they had left off in the last campaign, good and bad. Enthralling, frustrating; mighty, vulnerable.

Lawrie Sanchez, the Fulham manager, placed them in the top four at the end of the season, but not above Manchester United or Chelsea. Liverpool looked in pretty tidy nick, too, on Saturday. Even if there was standard first-day rustiness, it is going to be hard for Arsenal again, as they attempt the most difficult trick in sport: to win, playing beautifully.

It would help if some of the locals would accept that watching this team – even chasing a game for 83 minutes as happened yesterday – is always a pleasure, never a chore. It is an irony that, once ahead, all the little things that give Arsenal supporters most enjoyment are the same quirks and idiosyncrasies that cause greatest annoyance when the team are in deficit. That extra short pass, the little check back to get a slightly better angle for a cross, one last trick, looking for a teammate in a better position when there is half an opportunity to shoot. This is what sets Arsenal apart and when it finally worked, it brought celebrations and smiles as if there was never a doubt. Had Alexander Hleb not scored in the 90th minute, however, there would have been the same chorus of disapproval that greeted the half-time whistle.

Fulham suffered a rotten piece of luck when Antti Niemi, their first-choice goalkeeper, injured a wrist in the warm-up and was withdrawn from the XI. Within a minute of the start, however, some in the Arsenal ranks must have wished that such misfortune could have been theirs.

Dealing with a simple back-pass from Gaël Clichy, Lehmann was caught in two minds, attempted a square pass off-balance and miscued the ball to the approaching David Healy, who scored surely the easiest goal he will get in his first Barclays Premier League season. “I told the players Lehmann is likely to do something silly and David followed it up,” Sanchez offered, tactfully.

Ahead so soon, there was a feeling that Fulham may have hit a hornets’ nest with a big stick, but for all Arsenal’s possession, at the time when the breakthrough came, it looked as if Sanchez’s team were about to pull off the most impressive away win of the opening weekend.

A high defensive line had all but seen them home, as had stunning goalkeeping from Tony Warner, the stand-in, and stout defence from Zat Knight. It helped that Phil Dowd, the referee, had ignored a stonewall penalty when Chris Baird fouled Hleb – undermining Sanchez’s talk of injustice – and ruled Fulham’s own penalty appeal an unfortunate collision between Cesc Fàbregas and Steven Davies rather than a nefarious act.

There were many chances for Arsenal. A shot from Tomas Rosicky; two vital clearances from Knight; three longer-range shots saved by Warner and two brave stops at the feet of Fàbregas and Robin van Persie. There was the odd counter, Davies in the 48th minute and Clint Dempsey in the 78th coming close, but no team who have the temerity to take an early lead against one of the big four expect to do much but defend for the rest of the afternoon.

Ultimately, Fulham cracked. A brilliant run by Kolo Touré sent him past two players before Carlos Bocanegra halted his progress with a crude body-check. Dowd pointed to the spot and Van Persie found the roof of the net. Tails now up, Arsenal pressed and Fulham forgot previous good habits. It was a lovely pass from Fàbregas that created the winner, but he had not been allowed that space in the rest of the game, and Baird was turned inside out by Hleb before a smart finish.

Warner certainly did not deserve to be on the losing side.

Sanchez unleashed what he called a “terrible moan” about Arsenal’s diving and the performance of Dowd, although television replays backed few of his claims, if any. His greater concern should be the FA hearing that will automatically result from Fulham’s five bookings – Bocanegra and Steven Davis for fouls, Diomansy Kamara for not retreating at a free kick, Warner for holding on to the ball after Arsenal had equalised and Papa Bouba Diop for needing to grow up.

How they rated

Arsenal 4-4-1-1

J Lehmann 5
B Sagna 6
K Touré 6
W Gallas 6
G Clichy 6
E Eboué 5
M Flamini Y 6
F Fàbregas 7
T Rosicky 7
A Hleb 7
R van Persie 7

Substitutes T Walcott 5 (for Eboué, 62min), N Bendtner 7 (for Rosicky, 70), A Song (for Van Persie, 90) Not used M Almunia, P Senderos

Fulham 4-4-2

T Warner Y 7
C Baird 5
Z Knight 7
C Bocanegra Y 5
P Konchesky 7
S Davies 6
A Smertin 6
S Davis Y 6
H Bouazza 5
D Healy 7
B McBride 6

Substitutes P Bouba Diop Y 5 (for Smertin, 70), C Dempsey 5 (for Bouazza, 46), D Kamara Y 5 (for Healy, 62) Not used M Volz