Fulham’s first win of the new season had a distinctly north London touch.

Former Arsenal Academy graduates Emile Smith Rowe and Alex Iwobi were on the scoresheet in the 2-1 win over Leicester City.

The west London club dominated much of the match, with 18 shots on goal. Midfielder Andreas Pereira was the creative link behind their play, creating a total of seven chances on goal. That is the most a Fulham player has had in a Premier League match since Opta began collecting data (since 2003-04).

With the win, Fulham ensured that they have recovered from last week’s bitter defeat at Old Trafford.

Here are the topics of conversation…

Arsenal’s former players do the job

Smith Rowe and Iwobi were once key players in Arsenal’s Hale End Academy, so reuniting the pair this summer was an exciting prospect.

Iwobi provided the assist for Smith Rowe’s first goal for Arsenal in the Europa League away at Qarabag in October 2018.

The duo weren’t directly responsible for Fulham’s goals on Saturday, but they still contributed to the result, perhaps a sign of more to come.

Smith Rowe scored a beautiful goal on his home debut; an important moment for a player who carries great expectations. This was his first Premier League goal in 857 days and 32 games. His previous goal came against Chelsea in April 2022.

“When you sign a talented player like him, it’s always important to make an impact quickly,” Silva said. “This gives him a little more confidence.”

“Physically, he is still far from his best form. He will improve and adapt to our style of play.”

Iwobi then continued Arsenal’s run of form by scoring a goal in the second half, running onto a through ball from Antonee Robinson and finishing. His goal came at a crucial moment when Fulham’s quality was beginning to wane and the game threatened to drift towards a draw.

But his intervention ensured that Fulham’s success with former Arsenal recruits such as Willian and Bernd Leno continued.

Can Silva get the best out of Adama Traore?

For a while, Adama Traore was an enigma at Fulham. He was signed on a free transfer last summer and spent the first half of the season largely in the treatment room after suffering a thigh injury, which he described as one of the most serious of his career.

But Traoré returned and made important cameos from the bench, most notably his assist for Iwobi at Old Trafford in February that secured a 2-1 win in injury time.

Last week was only Traore’s second start in a Fulham shirt and Silva stayed true to his belief against Leicester. He made an impression, creating four chances, including the assist for Smith Rowe’s first goal. His runs upfield caused Leicester problems – although he was met with a low block that denied Traore space for his trademark runs.

Traore shone against Leicester (Michael Regan/Getty Images)

His physical qualities are well known, but his end product has always been questionable. At 28, the chance to finally hit his stride is fading. Can Silva do it? There have been promising signs.

“Two things are crucial,” Silva said. “It’s about consistency. A player who does so many sprints sometimes needs time to breathe, he switches off. The other thing is his decision-making. If he can improve those things, he will be more decisive for us.”

“He’s playing from the start because he deserves it. He’s impressed and had a good preseason. We’ll work hard with him. He knows he has our trust.”

Fulham’s transfer window is not closed yet

Sander Berge, who was signed for an initial fee of £20 million plus an additional £5 million in salary, was accompanied on the pitch before kick-off on Saturday by Joachim Andersen, who was signed for a transfer fee of around £30 million.

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The pair will have huge influence, taking spending this summer to over £95m. But Fulham are not done yet, with Silva wanting a winger in the final week. Fulham have accepted an offer for Lyon’s Rayan Cherki, but he appears reluctant to make the move.

“Nothing is that close,” Silva said. “We have lost some big names in our club and when we lose these types of players we have to be strong (in the market) like we did. It was a very good market for us. We pushed hard. The plan was there and we need the last piece of the puzzle for the wide areas in the attacking line.”

(Top photo: Smith Rowe celebrates his first goal for Fulham. Alex Broadway/Getty Images)