After the oil-price shocks of the 1970s, several European governments tried to cut the unemployment rolls by letting older workers collect early pensions or draw sickness and disability benefits for which they did not strictly qualify.
Several times Fulham were able to cut Arsenal open on the counterattack, and would have come away with a goalless draw if not for a complete mental breakdown on a 43rd minute set piece that gifted defender Per Mertesacker the lone goal of the match.