After the victory against Fulham, Arsene Wenger hit the nail on the head when he said, “This is the kind of result that can change a season for a team. It's a positive start. You can get momentum from these things, and especially belief. Nobody could ever measure it in terms of psychology, but it is important.”

Too damn right. Frankly, the sense of déjà vu watching Arsenal yesterday was almost crippling. Chance after chance created, without the finishing touch. Eduardo – the man bought to rectify these problems – on the bench.

They say the night is darkest before the dawn and after 80 minutes, I looked at the scoreboard clock which seemed to be counting down at a faster pace than that which determines Greenwich Mean Time, and I actually thought to myself, we are not going to do this now. I didn’t even expect a draw. I just expected Fulham to be too resolute. I think in the end fatigue must have played a part, and fitness is definitely one of Arsenal’s strengths.

Ultimately, the two players picked to start the game upfront scored the goals. Van Persie’s penalty strike was a thing of beauty. Pluck that out of the net. What a sublime contrast to the stress of a Gilberto grasscutter. And Alexander Hleb, despite playing in what presumably was a second striker role, for the most part showed his traditional remarkable reluctance to shoot. Normally, he would have been substituted by the time he came to score. But fair play to the number 13, it was a well taken goal.

The confidence of the win is utterly critical, because in truth, defensively, the team are in tatters. Gilberto was sorely missed and can’t come back soon enough as Flamini simply does not have the football brain to shield his defence. Unfortunately, the selection of Flamini demonstrates the lack of depth for this position despite the high number of midfielders on the books. The absent Johan Djourou can play there, but one wonders if Wenger has Luka Modric in mind for the role. Apparently he’s a ball-winner as well as being creative, although I can’t claim I know for sure. One suspects the decision to make William Gallas captain indicates Gilberto may be transferred abroad by next summer. If Modric was bought now he could be slowly integrated before being relied upon week-in week-out.

The price Arsenal pay for the possession football they play throughout the team is that individual errors at the back can easily create goalscoring opportunities. Exhibit A occurred before the match was a minute old. However, even without going to town on Lehmann’s folly, the truth is that Fulham created enough chances to win the game themselves. And that is worrying. Fulham are relegation contenders. A team that has won two away league matches in the last two seasons. That has not invested the new TV money significantly to strengthen the squad. They are exactly the type of side Arsenal dropped too many points to last season.

And that was why it felt like same old same old at Ashburton Grove. What happened to the resilience and determination shown against Ajax in a very unfriendly friendly? It re-surfaced in the final ten minutes, but why did we have to wait so long? Results are everything. Some options were unavailable – most critically, Eduardo, Adebayor and Gilberto. But that is where the depth of the squad is tested. The end result certainly lifted everyone after the stress of the match, but this was only Fulham. Arsenal should never have had to make such hard work of things.

Let’s hope for a bit more discipline in Prague on Wednesday night. I suspect the line-up will be the same even if Eduardo becomes available. In this instance, expect Hleb to play deeper and the formation to be a clear 4-5-1 as opposed to the 4-4-1-1 used against Fulham.

As for domestic matters, Arsenal will have to play much better next weekend at Blackburn. And they need to get off to a flyer this season, so let’s just hope they do.