Fulham were beaten 3-0 by Arsenal in the opening match of the 2020/21 Premier League campaign.
A scrappy Alexandre Lacazette goal was the difference between the sides in what was an evenly contested opening 45 minutes.
But the Gunners took control of proceedings in the second half, doubling their lead when debutant Gabriel headed in soon after the restart.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang then curled home a lovely third to ensure the points would be heading to North London on this occasion.
Scott Parker named a similar line-up to the one that started the Play-Off Final five weeks earlier, with the sole change seeing Ivan Cavaleiro come in for Bobby De Cordova-Reid.
Alphonse Areola was the only new recruit to make the squad, taking his place on the bench alongside the not-risked Aleksandar Mitrović, and André-Frank Zambo Anguissa who had returned from a successful loan spell at Villarreal.
Fulham had the first sniff of a chance inside two minutes when a loose back-pass was anticipated by Aboubakar Kamara, but Gunners goalkeeper Bernd Leno reacted well to smother the ball when Kamara looked to dink it beyond him.
A swift move down the right-hand side of the pitch five minutes later ended with Denis Odoi trying his luck from 20 yards, and Leno needed two bites of the cherry to get the ball in his grasp.
The bright start made Arsenal’s opener all the more frustrating. Granit Xhaka’s shot was deflected by Tim Ream to Willian who poked goalwards. Marek Rodák made a superb stop but could only parry to Lacazette who was left with the easiest of finishes.
The Whites responded with a powerful Neeskens Kebano volley that was blocked.
Arsenal nearly doubled their lead on 27 minutes when Willian arced a low free-kick towards the corner, but it hit the base of the post and span away.
The visitors started the second half with a driving Aubameyang run which saw the Arsenal captain glide into the Fulham box before looking to tee up a teammate. A vital touch from Ream – making his 200th appearance for the Club – diverted the danger away.
They did not need to wait long to make it two, though, with Gabriel’s downwards header from Willian’s corner finding the net.
The target opened up for Kamara in the 56th minute when he collected a loose ball following a Fulham free-kick, but he dragged his effort wide of the far post.
Aubameyang then went straight up the other end and showed his pedigree with a stunning finish into the corner that left Rodák with no chance, after his side had swept up the pitch at speed.
Soon after, Mitrović and Anguissa were introduced at the expense of Kamara and Kebano, and Mitrović was able to register a shot on target within minutes, but it lacked the sufficient power to trouble Leno.
Lacazette must have thought he’d made it four when he connected with Aubameyang’s cross six yards out, but Rodák made himself big to pull off a remarkable point blank save.
Aubameyang did manage to get the better of Rodák when he rounded the Fulham goalkeeper having been slipped in, but Michael Hector got his positioning right to head the subsequent shot off the line.
That was the last decent chance of the game, as our return to the Premier League ended in defeat.