Arsenal conceded two goals in the last five minutes as the crumbled to a 2-1 Premier League defeat at Craven Cottage.
Laurent Koscielny headed the Gunners into a first half lead, before Steve Sidwell and Bobby Zamora netted during the last five minutes to hand Fulham a dramatic victory.

If Arsene Wenger’s New Year’s resolution involved not blaming referees for defeats, then it did not last two days as the Gunners boss fumed over the dismissal of Johan Djourou during the second half.

Arsenal dominated possession from the outset, and created early chances that were not converted by Theo Walcott and Gervinho.

Gervinho was lively during the opening exchanges, and had a penalty appeal denied when he was brought down by former Gunner Philippe Senderos.

Arsenal finally broke the home side’s resistance in the 21st minute, when Aaron Ramsey’s floating cross was headed home by Koscielny.

The Gunners looked like they would take the game away from Fulham during the first half, but an outstanding double save from David Stockdale denied first Ramsey and then Alex Song.

Fulham’s best chance to score during the first half came when Bryan Ruiz dribbled through several Arsenal defenders before shooting wide.

Fulham midfielder Sidwell was released by the Gunners as a youth trainee, and played the second half like a man looking to prove a point. Sidwell headed over the bar at the start of the second period, before firing over the bar from distance soon after.

The home side gained the upper hand as the second half went on, and Senderos and USA international Clint Dempsey both headed wide when presented with good chances. Ruiz then found himself with space to shoot, but his effort was kept out by Wojciech Szczesny.

The pressure on Arsenal increased with 12 minutes remaining, when Djourou was dismissed for a second bookable offense.

Fulham finally equalized with five minutes remaining, and it was a pair of former Gunners who did the damage. After Arsenal failed to clear a corner, Senderos set up Sidwell to head home.

The roof was then lifted off Craven Cottage during injury time, when Bobby Zamora turned home a Stephen Kelly cross to seal a dramatic comeback win for the Cottagers.

At the end of the game, Fulham boss Martin Jol praised his team for an “amazing” performance, while Wenger was left to bemoan the performance of the referee.

“The referee influenced the game in completely the wrong way,” Wenger moaned to BBC Sport.

LINEUPS

FUL – Stockdale, Kelly, JA Riise, Hangeland, Senderos, Sidwell, Murphy (Frei 69), Dempsey, Ruiz, Zamora, Dembele.

ARS – Szczesny, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Djourou, Arteta, Walcott (Rosicky 65), Ramsey (Squillaci 81), Song, Coquelin, Van Persie, Gervinho (Benayoun 74).

SCORING SUMMARY

ARS – Laurent Koscielny (Aaron Ramsey) 21’
FUL – Steve Sidwell (Philippe Sendersos) 85’
FUL – Bobby Zamora (Stephen Kelly) 90+2’

LiveSoccerTV Man of the Match: Steve Sidwell (Fulham)

Attendance: 25,700