Fulham boss Roy Hodgson has warned his players to rectify their costly error count or risk being humbled by Arsenal.
The Cottagers slipped to a 2-1 defeat by Hull in their Barclays Premier League opener and Hodgson believes a crippling number of mistakes undermined his side.
Arsenal travel to south London in Saturday's late kick-off and Hodgson knows the Gunners will ruthlessly capitalise on any blunders.
"Our major problem area against Hull was the individual mistakes we made," he said.
"We created as many chances as they had so it was an even game. But at Premier League level, mistakes are heavily punished and we were punished by Hull.
"We have to make sure we don't make any serious defensive errors as Arsenal won't need a second invitation.
"We have to make Arsenal work hard for the goals they might score."
Fulham's defence endured a traumatising day in the same fixture last season as Arsenal cantered to a 3-0 victory.
Emmanuel Adebayor was their tormentor in chief as he steamrollered a static and vertically-challenged rearguard to plunder two goals.
Adebayor's bullying led Hodgson to bolster his defence by signing 6ft 4in Norwegian defender Brede Hangeland, who has been a regular ever since.
Arsenal went on to fall just short in the title race but Hodgson predicts they will be trading blows at the final bell this season.
"I have great respect for Arsenal and I think most people in this country do," he said.
"Arsene Wenger has done an outstanding job in terms of the quality of players he's consistently bought and the team's style of play.
"Whenever you're meeting one of the big four you're facing a stiff task.
"But at the same time it's very motivating to play a team like Arsenal.
"I expect them to be fighting tooth and nail for the title this season."
Duncan Bech at PA Sport |
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger knows the Gunners will need "complete focus" to ensure their Barclays Premier League campaign continues to build momentum at Fulham.
The Gunners head to Craven Cottage for Saturday's early evening kick-off on the back of an opening-day win over West Brom and looking to progress through to the group stages of the Champions League in the second leg of their qualifier against FC Twente next week.
However, with most of the squad having been away on international duty around the globe, Wenger accepts turning attentions back to the job at hand will be vital.
"Fulham have a strong squad, and their team look more dangerous going forwards than they did last year. If you add to that it will be a derby, you want a game where you have complete focus," said the Arsenal manager.
"We know the success of our season is based on how quickly we can focus again on club targets after international games."
Holland forward Robin van Persie, who scored against Russia in midweek, should come back into the starting line-up alongside Emmanuel Adebayor having started the West Brom match on the bench.
The Togo international is still to win over some of the Arsenal fans following a summer of transfer speculation linking him with a move to AC Milan.
However, with a new deal now signed to stay at Emirates Stadium - and for less than would have been on offer elsewhere - Wenger sees no reason why Adebayor should face any hostility.
"I believe that Emmanuel has been unfairly treated, because he had a lot of interest from many big clubs and he always told me one-to-one his preference was to stay. In the end he stayed," Wenger explained.
"That story did not come out like that in the press and unfortunately he is paying a price for a story which is not really him.
"He made a press conference in Austria where people interpreted his statements a bit differently, but I know what he told me, and I know he made sacrifices to stay."
Wenger added: "I was convinced he wanted to stay, but I was not always convinced he would stay because there is a big difference in that.
"People have advisors and some clubs pay higher wages than we do, we have to accept that."
New signing Mikael Silvestre, the 31-year-old former Manchester United defender, may not feature in this afternoon's clash, but Cameroon midfielder Alex Song should come back into contention after returning from the Olympics.
Euro 2008 winner Cesc Fabregas will, though, not be rushed following a hamstring problem and instead has been pencilled in against Steve McClaren's Dutch outfit, who trail 2-0, on Wednesday night.
Jim van Wijk at PA Sport |
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