Arsenal's performance exposed some clear flaws in Arsene Wenger's team just four days before their Champions League second-leg qualifier against FC Twente.This was their first defeat of the season and a worrying one which ended with captain William Gallas remonstrating with referee Martin Atkinson and an assistant referee.
• Wenger concedes Gunners are playing catch-up
But the visitors deserved all they got after a poor display in the opening 45 minutes.
Arsenal had a first half to forget, while Fulham led from the 21st minute, shortly after Robin van Persie missed a sitter when new boy Samir Nasri's mis-kick from Theo Walcott's cross left the Dutchman a gaping goal to aim at from eight yards.
Fulham went straight up the other end, forced a corner and centre-back Hangeland charged in on Jimmy Bullard's low flag kick while Gallas and Kolo Toure stood and stared. He slotted home without any fuss for his first goal for Fulham.
Arsenal struggled to beat West Brom in the Barclays Premier League last week and a single goal decided the result then at the Emirates Stadium.
This time Gallas and Toure seemed like strangers in defence, and although Emmanuel Adebayor's header from Bacary Sagna's cross hit the right post soon after Fulham's opener it was an isolated incident of danger.
Fulham could have had at least two more goals before the break.
Arsenal tried to impose their possession game in the early stages but were caught out when Zoltan Gera slipped a fine ball through to Bobby Zamora in the inside left channel in the eighth minute.
Zamora glided in behind the defenders but carelessly chipped a poor shot over the crossbar from a difficult angle when he should have waited for support to arrive.
Arsenal were then grateful to Gael Clichy for getting back to dispossess Zamora shortly afterwards when the former West Ham striker came raiding again, this time down the Fulham right.
Arsenal's first shot finally came after 12 minutes when Van Persie's pass found Adebayor and the Togo international neatly controlled the ball but fired a low drive off target from 20 yards.
Danny Murphy drove a volley over the bar when Gunners, briefly down to 10 men with Emmanuel Eboue limping off, could only half-clear Gera's cross.
Arsenal had hardly sparkled but should have gone ahead in the 18th minute through van Persie, who was promoted from substitute last week.
And they paid a heavy penalty when Fulham grabbed the lead the opportunist effort by 6ft 5ins Hangeland.
Fulham's luck held when Adebayor's header from a Sagna cross came back off a post but, still without injured £10.5 million signing Andrew Johnson, were good value for their advantage at the interval.
A few sharp words from Arsene Wenger at the interval no doubt brought Arsenal's massive improvement in the second period, but although the pressure on Fulham grew by the minute, there were few chances created.
Van Persie shot wide with a crisp effort trying to make amends for his first-half blunder and new boy Nasri ran his socks off.
But the replacement of a nearly anonymous Theo Walcott by the muscular Nicklas Bendtner made little difference and there was just no penetration to go with Arsenal's possession.
Wenger concedes Gunners are playing catch-up
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger labelled his team's performance 'just not good
enough' in today's shock 1-0 Barclays Premier League defeat at Fulham.The Gunners suffered an early blow to their title ambitions - and Wenger, who
has insisted he has a team capable of finishing top, admitted the Gunners got
what they deserved.'We were not sharp enough in the first half, and our passing was certainly not
as good as we expect it to be. I don't know why,' he said.'You have to give credit to Fulham; they played very well and they started
sharper than us.'We dominated the second half, but I felt in the last 25 minutes we were too
nervous and wanted to just hit the ball up there rather than create a chance.'Of course it is a setback. But the result is there, and we have to make up
for it by winning the next match. We have a big game on Wednesday in the
Champions League and need to improve.'We paid a big price for the mistake on their goal. We should be able to cope
with a corner when it comes in at low level like that.'Wenger had to agree when it was suggested his team might already be playing
catch-up against Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.He said: 'You are right. That is a fact - but we have to face it because from
all our possession we could not produce many chances. Frankly, the performance
was just not good enough.'In the absence of injured Cesc Fabregas from the Arsenal midfield, Fulham
dominated in the first half - and the only threat to them after the break was
tiredness.Manager Roy Hodgson was delighted with the three points against 'one of the
best teams in the country' - especially after last week's 2-1 defeat at
promoted Hull City.He said: 'I thought we played well for 70 minutes but perhaps in the last 15
or 20 we were guilty of trying too hard to just cling on to the lead and moved
away from the style.'I can understand that. Perhaps we got tired because there was a lot of
pressure, but we have to be realistic and say it is the consistency to play well
for 90 minutes that we need.'It is dangerous to invite teams - especially teams of this quality - on to
you. But that's what we did in the end. The ball was in and around our penalty
area far too much.'I don't want this to sound too critical, though. I've seen the best defensive
performance by us since I've been here - but I like best the Fulham that can
compose itself quite well and pass the ball well.'To be fair it's heartening that when our backs are against the wall we can
produce the necessary fighting spirit.'Goalscorer Brede Hangeland came in for particular praise from Hodgson.The big Norwegian, now captain of his country, stabbed in Jimmy Bullard's
low-driven corner on 20 minutes - just after Robin van Persie had squandered a
golden opportunity for Arsenal.Hodgson said: 'I had him for a year-and-a-half at Viking Stavanger in Norway,
and he's still a good player both defensively and at set-pieces.'His height is a big weapon but he can play as well. Let's face it, he had to
today against players of the quality of Adebayor and van Persie - not to mention
Bendtner coming on as sub.'
Fulham 1 - 0 Arsenal