Fulham manager Chris Coleman paid tribute to goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar after his team’s 0-0 draw with Arsenal.
Van der Sar made a string of good saves to thwart Arsenal, who dominated the match could not break the deadlock.
“To come here and get something obviously your goalkeeper’s going to be busy – and Edwin was,” said Coleman.
“He was man of the match, he has a big bottle of Champagne which he deserves and the lads are delighted for him.
“They have a lot of respect for him because he is world class.
“Anyone can come here and get hammered. I was on the wrong end of a few hidings here myself as a player and I am glad we made sure that didn’t happen to us because Arsenal can take anyone apart.
Coleman also revealed that his team went into the match with a determined game plan.
“We did not deserve to win by any means,” said Coleman.
“We got everyone behind the ball, left Louis Saha up front on his own hoping to catch them on the break.
“They were buzzing with confidence after they destroyed Inter Milan but I would have played the same way even if they had not smashed Inter 5-1.
“We broke down the statistics and knew 70% of Arsenal’s goals came in the first half.
“The longer we went on the more frustrated they became and they finished with four centre-forwards on the pitch and started to knock it long.”
And Coleman was delighted hat his team have moved into fourth in the Premiership.
“There is a league outside the top three,” said the Cottagers boss.
“We are fourth now so we are top of our own league and, considering what people were expecting us to do that is a fantastic achievement, although the aim is still to get to the 40-point mark.”
