Gunners title hopes shot down by Fulham

Arsenal's Captain Frenchman Thierry Henry (L) hits a volley toward the goal as Fulham's Moritz Volz (R) chases during the Premiership football match at Craven Cottage Bridge in London. Fulham won the game 2-1.

Fulham beat ten-man Arsenal 2-1 at Craven Cottage to end all hopes Arsene Wenger's side might have had of staying in the race for the Premiership title.

An early glanced header from Brian McBride followed by a strike from Tomasz Radzinski put Fulham 2-0 up after 18 minutes and, despite Robin van Persie's sweetly struck free-kick before the interval, Arsenal slumped to a second successive Premiership defeat.

Swiss defender Philippe Senderos was sent off for a second bookable offence midway through the second half to compound Wenger's misery.

The victory for Fulham was their first over their north London visitors in the Premiership in 11 attempts, having lost nine and drawn just one of their 10 previous meetings.

France striker Thierry Henry returned to the side after being kept out of the 3-1 defeat at Bolton on Saturday with a neck injury while Fulham defender Carlos Bocanegra was ruled out with a hamstring strain and Franck Queudrue was also sidelined with a shin injury.

The Cottagers snatched the lead after just five minutes when Arsenal's recent vulnerability at defending corners, evident in their defeat at Bolton, was again exposed.

Kolo Toure needlessly put the ball behind for a corner and Claus Jensen's inswinger from the left was glanced goalwards by McBride, the ball sneaking past Mathieu Flamini on far post after a slight deflection from Jens Lehmann's outstretched hand.

Radzinski chested the ball down from Luis Boa Morte's cross and fired a left foot shot which deflected up off a defender and almost looped over Lehmann's head.

Arsenal's Philippe Senderos (R) challenges Fulham's Brian McBride (L) during the Premiership football match at Craven Cottage Bridge in London. Fulham won 2-1.

The Cottagers doubled their lead on 19 minutes 2-0 when Boa Morte's cross from the left was bundled home by Radzinski, the striker receiving a nasty clout to the chin on the advertising hording as he followed through.

Alexandre Song, making his first Premiership start of the season, was booked on 25 minutes for blocking the onrushing Radzinski just outside the area as Arsenal struggled to contain the rampant home side.

Boa Morte should have wrapped up the points for the hosts on 34 minutes when he was left one-on-one with Lehmann after a tight offside call but the Portuguese striker could only strike the ball straight at the German goalkeeper.

Van Persie pulled a goal back for Wenger's men on 36 minutes when the Netherlands international curled home an exquisite left-footed free-kick past Antti Niemi from 25 yards.

Senderos was then unlucky to be booked for a crunching challenge on Radzinski and Jensen could have made Arsenal pay but sent his whipped free-kick just wide of Lehmann's righthand upright.

McBride could have added to his tally just before the interval after a cute exchange of passes saw him free in the area, but Lehmann got down well to save a fierce shot at his near post.

Wenger replaced the ineffectual Song with Cesc Fabregas at half-time while Coleman brought on Wayne Routledge for the injured Radzinski, who had been on the receiving end of several rough challenges in the first half.

Henry thought he had equalised when he curled home a beautiful finish only to see the goal it disallowed for a marginal offside decision.

Wenger brought on Theo Walcott for Tomas Rosicky on the hour-mark but two minutes later the visitors were down to ten men when Senderos received a second caution for bringing down Boa Morte.

The Portuguese stepped up to take the free-kick himself and Lehmann looked on helplessly as it crashed back off the underside of the crossbar.

Alexsandr Hleb was replaced by Johan Djourou as Wenger attempted to shore up his defence before Walcott soon made an instant impact, hitting the outside of a post from Henry's pass, but Fulham held on for a famous victory.

The game was the first of three successive London derbies that the Gunners face in the Premiership, with Tottenham visiting on Saturday before a vital Champions League clash at Porto and a game at Chelsea the following weekend.