Fulham boss Chris Coleman has warned his Fulham side they face a stern test against an Arsenal side reeling from last Sunday's 1-0 defeat at Chelsea when they make the short trip to Highbury.

After drawing their opening game of the new season against Birmingham City, Fulham lost 2-1 at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday and despite his men going down to fine strikes from Morten Gamst Pedersen and Tugay, Coleman was unimpressed by the manner of the defeat and would have made sweeping changes at Highbury, were his options not so limited by injury.

Coleman is without nine senior players unavailable through injury including centre-back Alain Goma and goalkeepers Jaroslav Drobny and Mark Crossley, leaving on-loan Tony Warner as first choice stopper again.

Defender Carlos Bocanegra is set for a run-out in the reserves as he recovers from a knee problem, but will not be rushed back into first-team action.

“I wanted to rattle a few cages after Saturday’s performance,” Coleman said.

“If I could have made half a dozen changes, I would have - and I don’t think there could have been a complaint.

“We have got to be realistic, we are going to one of the best teams in the league and it is going to be difficult,” he said.

“While we cannot compete with them in the transfer market, we have to compete with them on the pitch - there is no excuse for us.

“Even with the injuries, we should still have enough. They have got to stand up and be counted.

“We can go and put a solid performance in, make it as hard as we can for Arsenal and ask them questions.”

Despite Arsenal selling Patrick Vieira to Juventus and losing twice to Chelsea already this season, Coleman maintained: “You never write off Arsene Wenger.

“He knows exactly what he is doing.

“They have lost to Chelsea in the second game of the season - anyone can lose to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

“The title is not over - that is rubbish.”

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger insisted Arsenal should have "no inferiority complex" about Chelsea as he warned Jose Mourinho's side had not yet emerged as the dominant force in English football.

However, although he expressed his fears for the future of the beautiful game as teams try to follow the Chelsea model for success, the Arsenal boss will not compromise his attacking principles to recover lost ground in the title race.

The Gunners have an immediate chance to bounce back from their Stamford Bridge loss when they face Fulham, even with Freddie Ljungberg and Sol Campbell injured, while Dennis Bergkamp is doubtful.

Wenger said: "Why should we have an inferiority complex? They have now won one league game against us in 10 years!

"I feel we should take the positives from Sunday's game. It was a really unlucky defeat in many ways. They didn't create more than we did, we were really unlucky with some decisions as there was a clear penalty and they scored a lucky goal.

"In fact, it should strengthen our belief. The players were very frustrated as they lost a game they felt they didn't deserve to lose."

The Arsenal boss admits the "pressure is already bigger" on his young side as they now trail Chelsea by three points, but he will not compromise his commitment to entertainment.

Wenger may have opted for a safety-first approach in last season's FA Cup final but while Chelsea, Manchester United and many other sides are opting for five-man midfields, he remains resolutely against the idea.

"That trend is unfortunate for English football. We are all here because people come to the grounds and we should never forget that," he said.

"In our job, you can never say you would never do it and I don't want to accuse Chelsea of anything. It's a trend and we have to cope with it.

"I feel that Chelsea never open up, whether they are at home or away. I have nothing against teams that do that but the speed of our passing was not good enough to expose that.

"I want to win games and play good football. Chelsea play like that and they win, so you can't say they're wrong. It's a problem for their supporters, not for us. I don't say they have to make it easy for us.