Marco Silva praised Fulham’s ‘ambition and ‘determination’ after his side earned a point with ten men at Arsenal this afternoon.

The Whites equalised with three minutes to go through the returning Joao Palhinha having had Calvin Bassey sent off for two yellow cards – the first of which Silva described as a joke. The Fulham head coach was delighted with his side’s adventure, which saw them hit the front in the first minute with a stunning strike from Andreas Pereira, and their response to last weekend’s derby defeat by Brentford.

Silva told the BBC:

“[It is] strange, [I am] angry [but] it’s a good point, I agree with that. A great reaction from ourselves from the last result. Many people said this would not be a good stadium to come to and show a reaction. We believed it could be the best place to come and show that. We did that from the first minute, the way we pressed them and took advantage of the mistake. Of course Arsenal come back with more chances and shots and corners – I don’t need to see the stats.

“They push when they are losing. I have to mention the away fans as well, the way they support our team. They [Arsenal] created some moments, although not big, big chances in the first half. One of the things we need to improve is on the ball, we need possession to rest a bit more and breathe. It is tough physically to always be running back to the ball.

“Until the penalty, I thought the game was more or less under control. We have to be a bit more mature after they equalise. They score the second goal too quick and, in my mind, it was a foul on Calvin Bassey. At ten men we showed the ambition and determination, and a capacity to keep believing in ourselves. After we equalised, we were brave to defend our box with ten men.”

The Portuguese head coach was scathing about referee Paul Tierney’s decision to book Bassey for timewasting – pointing out that whilst seven Fulham representatives saw yellow, the official did not book anyone from the home side.

The first yellow card for Calvin is a joke. I have to say that yellow card is a joke. Of course we understand the new circumstances, they are taking all the emotion from the game. For sure, if a player from Fulham or another club came here to the Emirates and takes ten seconds to throw the ball in from a throw-in or a goal kick, it will be a yellow card.

For the other clubs, it’s not the same. If you see one of the first throw-ins for [Thomas] Partey on my side of the touchline, it took much more time than Calvin with the goal kick. It was not a yellow card. Why? Because they were losing the game.”