by Andrew Maclean
Darren Bent opened his goal scoring account on debut for Fulham on Saturday, as the Cottagers were defeated 3-1 by Arsenal in wet conditions at Craven Cottage.
29-year old Bent, who joined Fulham on loan from Aston Villa less than two weeks ago, replaced Republic of Ireland winger Damien Duff just prior to the hour-mark.
Despite his side being behind 3-0, Bent managed to react to Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny's save and subsequently scored from close range with 13 minutes remaining.
Although disappointed with his sides loss, Fulham manager Martin Jol said: "Look at the positives, Bent scored."
Bent has now netted on debut for Charlton Athletic (a brace against Sunderland in 2005), for Sunderland (against Bolton in 2009) and for Aston Villa (against Manchester City in 2011). He now has seven goals in his past nine outings against Arsenal.
