Fulham fell to a 1-5 defeat to Arsenal in the final game before the International break on Sunday afternoon at Craven Cottage.

After being pegged back in the 29^th minute the Whites fought back to level the scores on the stroke of half-time courtesy of a tidy André Schürrle chip. However, Alexandre Lacazette was on hand to break Fulham hearts at the start of the second half before goals from substitutes Aaron Ramsey & Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang put the match to bed.

Slaviša Jokanović made two changes from the side that fell to defeat against Everton last weekend at Goodison Park, with the Maxime Le Marchand & Cyrus Christie coming in to replace the injured Joe Bryan & Timothy Fosu-Mensah respectively.

It was a beautiful sunny day as the referee got the encounter up and running down by the banks of the Thames. And it was almost a dream start for the Whites after a calamitous pass from Héctor Bellerín that allowed Luciano Vietto an early sight on goal. After taking a touch past a committed defender the Argentinian shot low and en route to the goal his shot took a deflection and almost crept in the near post. However, Bernd Leno reacted quickly and clawed the shot behind for a corner.

After a tidy start to the match it was Fulham again knocking on the door in the 7^th minute when Vietto picked up the ball on the right wing and swung a neat delivery into the path of Aleksandar Mitrović who had made a good diagonal run across the box. The Serbian connected with the cross but his effort was well blocked and cleared by the visitors.

The opening 30 minutes was played at a frantic pace and it seemed an opener could come from either side with large pockets of space opening across the pitch and it was one such pocket that was exploited to the detriment of the Whites in the 28^th minute when Alex Iwobi was left completely unmarked on the left wing. With time to pick his spot he drilled it into the feet of Alexandre Lacazette, who made no mistake from 6 yards out and drilled it in at the near post.

As Arsenal looked to close out the first half with their slender one goal lead in tact they gifted Fulham a chance to hit back in the 42^nd minute when an errand pass was intercepted by Ryan Sessegnon on the left wing. He quickly looked up and laid one into the path of André Schürrle who was in acres of space inside the Gunners box. However, he snatched at his effort and sent a fizzing drive whizzing over the bar.

However, moments later the score was level. A lackadaisical clearance was intercepted by André-Frank Zambo Anguissa who had been a tireless force anchoring the midfield. With Arsenal in disarray and their shape a mess the Cameroonian passed it to Vietto on the edge of the box. With defenders backing off he slipped a delicious through ball into the path of Schürrle who matched the picture perfect assist with a delightful chip that went over the onrushing Leno and into the back of the net.

The Cottage was rocking as the referee brought the first half to a close with the sides level.

However, the feel good factor eliminated just after the start of the second half when Lacazette was allowed space and time following a fortunate flick on to the striker just on the edge of the Fulham box. With no support around him he only had one thing in mind and placed a shot into the bottom to restore the lead.

With Arsenal content to sit back and catch Fulham on the counter the Whites huffed and puffed but could not break through and were punished on the break. With bodies committed high up the pitch Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was sent haring down the left wing. Despite desperate efforts to prevent the cross the striker squared a powerful ball across the six-yard box which Ramsey instinctively flicked into the bottom corner past a stranded Bettinelli in the Fulham goal.

With a two goal cushion the Gunners continued to press and probe and looked dangerous throughout. Aubameyang added a fourth after he turned Le Marchand and lashed one home from close range and followed up with the fifth in injury time to condemn Fulham to a second successive loss.  

Fulham will be back in action following the International break as they make the trip to South Wales to take on Cardiff City.