Arsenal 3 Fulham 1: Adebayor pushes Fulham closer to trapdoor

For five brief but intoxicating minutes at the Emirates yesterday Fulham were able to dream of Premiership safety. Then reality intruded and their perilous descent towards relegation resumed. Allowed, by profligate Arsenal finishing, to remain in a contest that should have been beyond them, Fulham thought Simon Davies had snatched an improbable and vital point 12 minutes from time.

It was not to be as Arsenal struck twice in the closing seven minutes. Having taken one point from three matches since replacing Chris Coleman with Lawrie Sanchez, Fulham are now just one point clear of the relegation zone with fixtures against Liverpool, at home, and Middlesbrough, away, to finish.

"You could explode your head thinking about the permutations," Sanchez said. "Unlike West Ham and Charlton our destiny is in our own hands, the minute it is not, you are in trouble. One win will probably do it, it is whether we can win one game." Where, how, that win will come is not immediately obvious. The one concrete achievement Fulham managed was to maintain a narrow goal difference advantage over the clubs behind them. After five minutes even that modest aim seemed in jeopardy.

The opening half-hour was so one-sided it was embarrassing. Fulham have conceded more goals away from home, 39, than anyone in the Premiership and it was not hard to see why. The defending was frequently shambolic, especially in the centre. Sanchez had paired two mighty oaks, Zat Knight and Philippe Christanval, yet the diminutive Liam Rosenior was left to jump against Julio Baptista in the fifth minute after Emmanuel Adebayor had scooted past Carlos Bocanegra and crossed.

The Beast headed home with ease but his boots were not as deadly as his brow. In the next 10 minutes he twice failed even to test Antti Niemi from close in after being set up by Cesc Fabregas and Alexander Hleb respectively.

When, around the half-hour mark, Niemi was examined he passed with distinction making tremendous saves to deny Fabregas, then Adebayor, as Arsenal continued to tear Fulham apart.

Gradually, Arsenal's passing lost its edge. Motivation, admitted Wenger, was a problem, though for regular Arsenal watchers the issue appears more deep-seated. Some credit was due to Fulham whose resistance had improved although Sanchez was gilding the lily when he claimed "we ground Arsenal down, we got a deserved equaliser".

The goal owed more to Jens Lehmann's frailties than any creative action on Fulham's part. A high ball was hoisted towards the edge of the box from the left. As Heider Helguson and William Gallas rose to contest it Lehmann tore from his line. His weak punch fell to Davies who skilfully lobbed it in from 25 yards.

It was hardly the way for Lehmann to commemorate the signing of another year's contract. It will also have horrified Paul Jewell, Alan Curbishley and Alan Pardew, the managers of Wigan, West Ham and Charlton, were they watching. Fulham, emboldened, went for victory, their first in 11. Had Clint Dempsey put a free header under, rather than over the bar from a subsequent corner, they might have got it. Sanchez would then be contemplating a permanent appointment. Instead there was a cruel sting as Arsenal roused themselves with impressive panache.

Adebayor, released by Fabregas, steered the ball inside the far post. Then the pair combined to find Hleb who was brought down in the box. It was the eighth Premiership penalty awarded to Arsenal at the Emirates, by far the most to any club at home this season. That may spark all manner of conspiracy theories from Jose Mourinho but, given the amount of time Arsenal dribble in the box, it is hardly surprising. Gilberto Silva converted and Fulham were left to ponder a darkening future.

"Everyone in the stadium could see we were the only team likely to win," claimed Sanchez, "then they did us on the counter. But it's not often you get Arsenal by the jugular and the players thought 'let's put the season to bed'."

More accurately, Wenger said: "It was the story of our season. We make things more difficult for ourselves than we need to." Greater ruthlessness is certainly needed. The women have shown the way. They won the women's Uefa Cup yesterday, the first British team to do so. A goalless draw with Umea, of Sweden, at Boreham Wood earned them a 1-0 aggregate success. The trophy was paraded at the Emirates at half-time. "I'm very pleased for them, perhaps I'll play them against Chelsea next week," said Wenger, looking only slightly jealous.

Goals: Baptista (5) 1-0; Davies (78) 1-1; Adebayor (84) 2-1; Gilberto Silva pen (87) 3-1.

Arsenal (4-4-1-1): Lehmann; Eboué, Touré, Gallas, Clichy; Hleb, Fabregas, Gilberto Silva, Diaby; Baptista (Denilson, 70); Adebayor. Substitutes not used: Almunia (gk), Senderos, Djourou, Hoyte.

Fulham (4-2-3-1): Niemi; Rosenior (Volz, 67), Knight, Christanval, Bocanegra; Diop, Brown; Davies, Jensen (Dempsey, 60), Rad-zinski; McBride (Helguson, 60). Substitutes not used: Lastuka (gk), Montella.

Referee: M Clattenberg (Tyne & Wear) Booked: Arsenal Gilberto Silva, Eboué; Fulham Brown, Radzinski.

Man of the match: Fabregas

Attendance: 60,043.

* Arsenal became the first British side to lift the women's Uefa Cup after a goalless draw in the second leg against Umea yesterday. Alex Scott's last-gasp goal in Sweden last weekend secured a 1-0 aggregate win.

Fiszman defiant over American's plans to buy Arsenal

Danny Fiszman, the Arsenal director, said the board have no intention of selling the club to Stan Kroenke because they do not believe the US businessman will improve the Gunners.

Kroenke recently upped his stake in Arsenal's parent holding company to 12.19 per cent, sparking rumours of a hostile takeover. But Fiszman, the club's biggest shareholder with a 24.11 per cent holding, told Sky Sports: "We are open to anything that will improve the club but we're going to have to be seriously convinced that it would. It's going to be very, very difficult to explain to me and to the rest of board how you can actually make substantial investment - which would be another £400m, £500m, £600m - and expect a return for that. If it's just an eight to 10 per cent return, you're talking about £50m or so. That's got to come out of the club, otherwise there's no point making a purchase. I don't know how they're going to be able to improve the finances of the club at that sort of amount."

Fiszman warned Kroenke that even if he were to make a formal takeover bid, the board would not fold. "The board has 45.5 per cent of the shares," the diamond dealer said. "We also obviously have friends which takes us over 50 per cent. They can mount a hostile bid but they're never going to get control. The future of the club is in the hands of the board."