EYEWITNESS: ARSENAL 2 FULHAM 1, FA Premier League

FA PREMIER LEAGUE: ARSENAL 2 FULHAM 1

EYEWITNESS report by RICHARD OSLEY

From THE EMIRATES STADIUM

HOW can it be that a team beaten at home by Newcastle, West Brom and Spurs, and comprehensively dismantled by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, be top of the league? Arsenal could have nine extra points if they had held on to the two goal advantage they had against Tottenham recently and applied themselves properly against two newly promoted teams. And yet even without them, tonight they sit on top of the Premiership courtesy of a hard fought win over Fulham.

Chelsea's teetering form has opened the door to Arsenal, who in the last five games have succeeded in not being as bad as the champions. As Arsenal stumbled against the Magpies, Chelsea outdid them with that hammering at home to Sunderland and some poor away draws. The Gunners have slowly taken the hint. Nobody outside of the Emirates Stadium really believes Arsene Wenger's team will be in the same position in May, mainly because of matches like today. There was no need for them to be hanging on, praying for the final whistle. The jitters seemed to set in as soon as they got ahead, that's not the kind of behaviour that will deliver trophies even if Arsenal are the only team now that can technically win an unprecedented treble.

Stylish and confident in the first half an hour against well-organised Fulham, Arsenal could have been four nil up before Samir Nasri's Kanu style dummies wrong-footed the visitors' defence, allowing him a sight of a goal big enough to crash home the opener on 14 minutes.

There seemed no other result possible. Arsenal were going to march on and win by three or four. Not here. Once again the shaky back four dithered. Laurent Koscielny and Sebastian Squillaci headbutted each other going for the same ball and while Koscielny counted the stars Diomansy Kamara skipped clear and slotted beyond Lukasz Fabianski.

The doubts. The nerves. Panic set in as Arsenal thought back to wasted chances by Andrey Arshavin and Alex Song before the equaliser and in a dire second half, Fulham at times looked the better team. A couple of corners were hazardously defended by Arsenal. It would not have been a surprise if they had fallen behind.

But the day belonged to Nasri. His second half was a bit like Thierry Henry's days in red and white. For a large share of it, he faded out of the game, did hardly anything - and then right on time he popped up with a goal to live long in the memory. He began a passing move that involved Arshavin and Van Persie, unlocking Fulham's tight defence. Clear of the last defence, Nasri delicately steered the ball past Schwarzer and when it looked like he had pushed the ball too wide he pirouetted and swung the ball into the net from the tight angle. A goal that Henry - watching in the stands - would have been proud of. And timely. Arsenal had played with little imagination in the second half and yet with that moment of magic, had catapulted themselves beyond Chelsea and Manchester United, who sat this weekend out because of snow in Blackpool. Somehow, they are at the top. United lie in wait next week, though.