Fulham 1-3 Arsenal: Quick recap

Arsenal, aside from some nervous defending against a Fulham side hellbent on pressuring our midfield into turnovers, took a step towards distancing themselves and, hopefully, the commentary on the state of their side by collecting three points at Craven Cottage today. Lukas Podolski netted two wonderful goals, Santi Cazorla nearly went the entire match without misplacing a single pass while providing an assist, Aaron Ramsey continued to stake his claim as one of the key cogs in our squad and Olivier Giroud scored off a chip and then had one of the best touches you'll see in quite some time that ended in Podolski's second.

Going further back on the pitch, Bacary Sagna filled in wonderfully, again, at center back and the rest of the back line showed nerve in the face of Fulham's attack, which was studious, if not at times a bit scary. Lastly, Wojciech Szczesny made a few saves to remind us he's still a great keeper on his best day.

Sure, the bench is thin and depth has always been a concern and the result from last weekend will never go away, but the product that Arsenal continues to put out on the pitch is quality. They have an awareness of each other when playing together, a cohesiveness that takes time to develop, especially when looking at other clubs very nearby who've added a host of new starters within a very short period of time.

This week should - hopefully - see some action in the form of a new transfer or two (or three). We get Laurent Koscielny back in time for the North London Derby next weekend, but this is a side that really can't afford another injury to a starter at this point; expect a side comprised mainly of reserves in the midweek second leg Champions League qualifier versus Fenerbahçe. Today, though, they will leave Craven Cottage intact, with three points, and another interesting, crucial week ahead.

Good work today, boys.