Arsenal were handed an embarrassing defeat at Craven Cottage as they went down 1-0 to a hard working Fulham side on Saturday.

Norwegian defender Brede Hangeland scored the only goal of the match with a header in the 21st minute as Fulham hung on to their lead on the face of repeated Arsenal attacks to clinch a famous victory at Craven Cottage.

Arsenal dominated the possession for most of the match but were clearly missing the creativity of their star midfielder Cesc Fabregas who was out of the tie with an injury. The Gunners were also unsettled with the physical approach used by the Fulham players, though they nearly broke the deadlock in the 19th minute when Robin Van Persie saw his shot fly inches wide of the post.

Fulham made them pay for the missed chance by taking the lead two minutes later when a short corner saw Jimmy Bullard cross the ball into the penalty area and Hangeland raced ahead of William Gallas to head home from close range.

Adebayor should have had put Arsenal back on level terms minutes later but was only able to hit the post with his header off Sagna's cross.

Fulham created the best chance of the second half when Bobby Zamora latched on to Seol Ki-Hyeon's pass but saw his driven shot go just over the bar. With time ticking out, Arsenal pressed forward in search of the equalizer and though the Gunner enjoyed a loin's share of the possession, they were unable to create any real chances, suffering their first defeat of the season.