Arsenal keep vultures waiting

Fulham 1 Arsenal 3

The press room at Craven Cottage was packed to the rafters, every seat taken — and they had come to witness the latest step of a slide into ignominy for a grand old club and its venerable manager.

There are all sorts of stories emerging in the Premier League, but the perceived descent of Arsenal into further anonymity has generated huge attention. A feeble attempt at making a statement of intent in the transfer market has angered fans who pay the highest prices in the country yet are left watching a team competing, at best, for fourth place.