After an underwhelming Christmas period, which saw the Whites conceded eight goals without reply in three demoralising defeats, this was the perfect way for Fulham to finish a fantastic 2023. Marco Silva’s side might not have hit the heights of their first campaign back in the top flight, but after handing out back-to-back thrashings to Nottingham Forest and West Ham United, they delivered what they have threatened to do ever since Silva took charge at Craven Cottage: earned a deserved win over one of the top six.

Much of the discussion in this morning’s papers and online has centred around how poor Arsenal were. That’s understandable – the headline is clearly that Mikel Arteta’s title challengers have suffered two damaging defeats in a row. But if the Gunners were ultimately poor, it should be recognised that the home side had to battle back from the shock of conceding an early goal to Bukayo Saka. But Silva’s side didn’t go into their shell or sacrifice their sense of adventure in order to achieve an astonishing turnaround – they continued to attack Arsenal and got their reward after an absorbing ninety minutes.

The spine of Fulham’s side were simply superb. Calvin Bassey was phenomenal at the heart of the defence, producing a brilliant tackle on Bukayo Saka to free up the ball in the middle of the park, sparking the move to lead to the equaliser. Alongside him, Tosin Adarabioyo was imperious and Issa Diop came off the bench in the closing stages to win crucial headers as the away side pressed for a late leveller. Antonee Robinson proved inspired again against another top class winger, whilst Silva earned his reward for sticking with the Joao Palhinha/Tom Cairney axis in central midfield.

Palhinha was peerless at the base of the Fulham engine room, comfortably outdoing Declan Rice in the battle of the ball winners. His celebrated block of Saka’s late shot when the England winger looked set to make it 2-2 was brilliant, not just for the tackle itself but the way he read the danger and sprinted into the spaces Saka had been seeking to exploit after breaking into the box. He dovetailed brilliantly with Cairney, who was less prominent given that the Whites only had 39% of the ball, but the captain still kept possession intelligently and supplied a sublime cross for Jimenez to bring Fulham level having broken beyond Willian along the left flank.

The Brazilian makes a massive difference to how effective Fulham can be in the final third. How long he can keep rolling back the years on the banks of the Thames remains to be seen, but this was another epic display. Not only did the veteran seem always available, dropping into spaces to receive the ball, he controls and keeps it so well despite appearing surrounded, he linked up wonderfully with Robinson when the American raided forward. He has a great understanding with Jimenez, whose movement, hold up play and all-around game underlined just how important he is to Silva’s game plan. The Mexican revelled in his return after that suspension, brutally bullying William Saliba and Gabriel in the Arsenal back line. If Fulham can keep the rejuvenated centre forward fit and well served by fluid approach play, there’s no reason why the goals won’t keep flowing.

It is rather fantastically Fulhamish to have won the hardest fixture of the last three, having been abject in the defeats by Burnley and Bournemouth. This did feel like the template for how the Whites can enjoy the rest of the season. Silva will have to cope without Calvin Bassey and the versatile Calvin Bassey over the coming month during the African Cup of Nations, but even their absence should provide an opportunity for the fit-again Diop and Harry Wilson to shine. Some shrewd additions now that the transfer window is open could have us all looking up the table rather than down.

A word too for the raucous atmosphere at the Cottage yesterday. Even the most fanatical of Fulham fans would freely admit that our historic old home doesn’t have the reputation for being intimidating, but the old place was rocking yesterday. There’s no doubt that spurred the boys on to a famous win – and if the crowd can continue playing their part, it might not even be the biggest win Silva’s side achieve this season.