Wenger hails new steel as Young Guns reel in Fulham

SO there is life after Thierry Henry.

Arsenal shrugged off the most turbulent summer in their recent history with a touch of alchemy yesterday, magically transforming disastrous defeat into exhilarating victory in seven breathless minutes. If football without the mercurial Frenchman is always this fun, it is a wonder he was not sold sooner.

Yet the afternoon could not pass off without controversy. Lawrie Sanchez, the Fulham manager, departed muttering darkly about Arsenal’s “blatant simulation” and suggested the referee Phil Dowd’s failure to punish their behaviour had contributed to his decision to award a late penalty — duly converted by Robin van Persie — with just seven minutes remaining.