Fulham reserves lost their opening league game of the season as they went down 3-0 to Arsenal at Underhill.
First half goals from Giles Sunu and Francis Coquelin put the Gunners in control and they added a third with nine minutes remaining when Roarie Deacon drove home. Sunu cut in from the left, danced through the Fulham defence and hit a powerful shot past Neil Etheridge to give Arsenal the lead and, shortly afterwards, turned provider for Coquelin to turn the screw. His corner was headed home by the midfielder, who was hardly challenged at the near post, as Fulham seemed to go to sleep at the back.
The Whites did have the best chances before those two quickfire goals. Michael Briggs made have done better with a header and Luca Moscatiello’s lob looked to have Wojciech Szczesny beaten but it went agonisingly wide. Michael Uwezu shot wide early in the second half but that was as close as Fulham came to making an impression in the second period.
Arsenal added a third as the clock ran down. Deacon, looking to do enough to convince Arsenal to give him a professional contract, worked a clever one-two with his fellow substitute Rhys Murphy and finished clinically. It could have been worse for Fulham as Nacer Barazite saw his deflected shot come back off the crossbar.
Interestingly, the former Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear was watching from the stands at Barnet last night.
ARSENAL RESERVES (4-5-1): Szczesny; Miquel (Evina 69), Bartley, Gilbert, Hoyte; Coquelin, Henderson (Murphy 64), Watt, Barazite, Sunu; Simpson (Deacon 79). Subs (not used): Shea, Freeman.
GOALS: Sunu (39), Coquelin (41), Deacon (81).
FULHAM RESERVES (4-4-2): Etheridge; Marsh-Brown, Anderson (Pierre 90), Briggs, Smalling; Saunders, Harris (Owusu-Ansah 79), Moscatiello, Smith (Reece 85); Hoesen, Uwezu. Subs (not used): Foderingham, Jones.
BOOKED: Smalling.