Slavisa Jokanovic was left with mixed feelings after witnessing a promising start to the game, ultimately however, the Whites left Craven Cottage well beaten.
André Schürrle levelled the scores just before the break but Arsenal hit back with four more goals in the second-half which condemned Fulham to a second consecutive defeat in the Premier League.
“My sensations are mixed a little bit,” said Jokanovic, “Because I thought we played the first 45 minutes well. We created the chances, the team was running well and we didn’t give them many opportunities to score goals.
“But in the second-half they scored really easy goals and I missed the team being more solid, I missed more speed, I missed more thought.
“At the end we opened all the doors and they finished the action easily after not so many complicated situations for us. The second goal arrived from some throw in, they kicked the ball and finished the action, we weren’t strong or fast enough to stop the shot, and the first goal too, we needed to be more solid and better in this kind of situation.
“At the moment we show so many weaknesses for this level where we are, especially on the defensive side so we must work very hard to find the solution to this kind of problem.”
The Fulham head coach took off Tim Ream and brought on Aboubakar Kamara at 2-1, with a more attacking line-up to try and find a way back in the game but Arsenal pressed on and scored a further three goals.
Jokanovic said: “After they scored the second goal I tried to find some way to find the equaliser, I don’t believe in too many statistics but we finished the game with 21 shots and the opposite team with nine.
“At this level you can be a little bit confused but at the end they showed the quality, they showed the base, they showed their strengths too and this is what I missed, especially today.
“We must build trust in ourselves, we must be working, we must know where we are. At the moment we haven’t shown a Premier League level, it’s true, but 90 points are available ahead of us and we must be working hard for understanding where we are.
“It’s not an easy competition, we must be brave, be strong, push forward and be ready for the next challenge.
“We tried today to win the game, to be honest we lost 5-1 but we tried to win the game.
“I trust, I believe that if I try to win the game then one day I will win the game. At the end if you believe the solution is to sit in the box and try and find the solution in this way, I don’t believe in this way.
“Today we tried, we didn’t make enough good but we offer some positive signs, it is not easy for me now to try and explain these positive things, especially after one hard defeat like what arrived today.”
One noticeable absentee from the Fulham line-up was captain Tom Cairney who returned from injury against Everton last weekend, however Jokanovic thinks he will be back sooner rather than later.
“He [Cairney] is not working with us at the moment and we are waiting. I am not a doctor but we believe he will soon be back with the team, he is still with pains and he is not available to help us,” he said.
